1
25
171
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2109/34865/SWeirG19660703v130001.1.pdf
c6ed68dd8a908559b5f8403385f594af
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Weir, Greg. Edwards, William
Description
An account of the resource
One item. Collection contains the log book of William Edwards (RAAF) who flew thirty operations as Lancaster pilot on 467 Squadron between September 1944 and April 1945.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-04-26
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Weir, G
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
William Edwards - pilot's flying log book
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Australian Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Description
An account of the resource
Flying log book for William Edwards, pilot. Covering the period 25 June 1942 to 31 January 1952. Details his training, operations and post-war civilian flying with Qantas. He was based at RAF Calveley, RAF Windrush, RAF Docking, RAF Church Broughton, RAF Swinderby, RAF Syerston and RAF Waddington. Aircraft flown were Tiger Moth, Yale, Harvard, Anson, Master, Oxford, Wellington, Stirling, Lancaster, Lancastrian, C-47, Constellation and B-24 . With 467 Squadron he flew 30 operations plus a recall and an early return (Dresden). Of these 21 were night and 9 daylight operations. Targets were Karlsruhe, Wilhemshaven, Bremen, Flushing, Brunswick, Nuremberg, Flushing, Dortmund-Ems Canal, Harburg, Duren, Trondheim, Heilbronn, Giesson, Urft Dam, Munich, Mittelland Canal, Houffalize, Politz, Leuna, Rositz, Bohlen, Dortmund, Lutzendorf, Ijmuiden and Hamburg. His pilot on his first ‘second dickie’ operation was Squadron Leader Dieghan.<br /><br /><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW254546702 BCX0">This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No </span><span class="ContextualSpellingAndGrammarError SCXW254546702 BCX0">better quality</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW254546702 BCX0"> copies are available.</span>
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-09-26
1944-09-27
1944-10-05
1944-10-06
1944-10-07
1944-10-11
1944-10-14
1944-10-15
1944-10-19
1944-10-20
1944-10-23
1944-11-06
1944-11-07
1944-11-11
1944-11-12
1944-11-16
1944-11-22
1944-11-23
1944-12-04
1944-12-05
1944-12-06
1944-12-07
1944-12-08
1944-12-10
1944-12-11
1944-12-17
1944-12-18
1945-01-01
1945-01-02
1945-01-05
1945-01-06
1945-01-13
1945-01-14
1945-01-15
1945-01-17
1945-02-02
1945-02-03
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-15
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-21
1944-02-22
1944-02-24
1944-03-07
1944-03-08
1944-03-12
1944-03-14
1944-03-15
1944-04-06
1944-04-09
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SWeirG19660703v130001
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
1660 HCU
27 OTU
467 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
B-24
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
C-47
Flying Training School
Harvard
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 3
Lancastrian
Me 109
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
RAF Calveley
RAF Church Broughton
RAF Swinderby
RAF Syerston
RAF Waddington
RAF Windrush
Stirling
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
Yale
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2007/33446/LDaymontWH1111945v1.1.pdf
30d966723d212a70c4a332f1d4e9507e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Daymont, William Henry
W H Daymont
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-10-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Daymont, WH
Description
An account of the resource
Seventeen items.
The collection concerns William Henry Daymont (b. 1920, 1111945 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents, correspondence, his caterpillar club pin and photographs.
He flew operations as a flight engineer with 100 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Pauline Daymont and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
William Daymont's flying log book for navigators, air bombers, air gunners, flight engineers
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LDaymontWH1111945v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Flying log book for navigator’s, air bomber, air gunner’s, flight engineers for W. Daymont, flight engineer, covering the period from 11 August 1944 to 24 August 1945. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF St Athan, RAF Hemswell, RAF Grimsby, RAF Elsham Wolds and RAF Driffield. Aircraft flown in were Halifax and Lancaster. He flew a total of 28 operations with 100 Squadron, 8 daylight and 20 night. Targets were Dusseldorf, Bochum, Dortmund, Wanne-Eickel, Aschaffenburg, Duren, Essen, Hamburg, Heligoland, Bremen, Berchtesgaden, Frieburg, Cologne, Leuna, Zeitz, Kleve, Dresden, Chemnitz, Duisberg, Pforzheim, Dessau, Kassel, Misburg, Plauen and Berlin. He also flew one Operation Exodus and two Operation Manna flights. His pilot on operations was Flying Officer Butler. </p>
<p> </p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944
1944-11-02
1944-11-03
1944-11-04
1944-11-05
1944-11-06
1944-11-14
1944-11-15
1944-11-16
1944-11-17
1944-11-21
1944-11-22
1944-11-27
1944-11-28
1944-12-24
1945-01-14
1945-01-15
1945-01-16
1945-01-17
1945-02-07
1945-02-08
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-15
1945-02-20
1945-02-21
1945-02-22
1945-02-23
1945-02-24
1945-03-07
1945-03-08
1945-03-09
1945-03-11
1945-03-12
1945-03-15
1945-03-16
1945-03-31
1945-04-10
1945-04-11
1945-04-14
1945-04-15
1945-04-18
1945-04-22
1945-04-26
1945-04-27
1945-05-01
1945-05-02
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
Belgium--Brussels
England--Lincolnshire
England--Yorkshire
Germany--Aschaffenburg
Germany--Berchtesgaden
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Chemnitz
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dessau (Dessau)
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düren (Cologne)
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Hannover Region
Germany--Helgoland
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Kleve (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Germany--Leuna
Germany--Pforzheim
Germany--Plauen
Germany--Wanne-Eickel
Germany--Zeitz
Netherlands--Rotterdam
Wales--Glamorgan
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Freiburg im Breisgau
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
100 Squadron
1662 HCU
466 Squadron
aircrew
bale out
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
bombing of Helgoland (18 April 1945)
flight engineer
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 5
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 3
Operation Exodus (1945)
Operation Manna (29 Apr – 8 May 1945)
RAF Driffield
RAF Elsham Wolds
RAF Grimsby
RAF Hemswell
RAF St Athan
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/959/9420/PPopeKMJ18010065.1.jpg
42dcaff622d24e96ad5ef922f530a1e2
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Pope, Kenneth. Album
Description
An account of the resource
79 items. The album concerns Sergeant Kenneth Malcom John Pope, (b. 1924, 1876733 Royal Air Force). He completed 32 operations as a flight engineer with 467 Squadron from RAF Waddington. The album contains his log book, photographs, letters, and newspaper cuttings about the operations he took part in.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Susan Elizabeth Kelly and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
K M J Pope
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-15
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
2,000-ton Double RAF Blow
DRESDEN
German Achtungs indicate that Dresden, set ablaze by a double R.A.F. raid in the night, was bombed 12 hours later in daylight to-day by powerful Allied air fleets.
It was the first time that R.A.F. Bomber Command had been ordered to make a tactical attack at night in support of the Red Army, and it may be that Air Marshal Sir Charles Portal, Chief of the Air Staff, brought with him from Yalta instructions by the “Big Three” to deliver this and similar assaults whenever possible.
Minute-by-minute Nazi radio warnings reported a 300-mile-long bomber armada over Germany, going in from the west to-day, ending with “Achtung: the bombers are over Dresden and Prague.”
U.S. heavies were office [sic] reported over Gremany, and Forts and Liberators swarmed out over Britain’s East coast from dawn.
Two-Way Attack
Other Nazi radios reported bombers flying over Austria towards the Reich.
Eight hundred R.A.F. heavies in a double raid in the night had rained well over 2000 tons of bombs on Dresden as Marshal Koniev’s Red Army, 70 miles away, raced along the roads to this vital German base for the defence of Eastern Germany.
Four hours after the first R.A.F. attack the second force went in. Great fires were left and the whole city was blanketed in smoke. There was one giant explosion.
Lancaster crews bombing Dresden last night could see the East Front battle. “As we left the target I could see endless fires and explosions in the east.” Said Flight-Sergeant Frank Bramley, a mid-upper gunner from Toronto.
“The Russians were laying down all kinds of stuff on the Germans. Gun flashes spattered all along the Western Front as well, but it did not compare with the East Front.
Crews said the raid was “bang on.” “Dresden was one mass of fires.” Said one pilot. “They won’t manufacture much war stuff there for some time to come.”
[underlined]
Twenty Third Operation
DRESDEN
Tuesday Night. February 13th 1945.
Airborne 9hrs 50mins
[/underlined]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Twenty third operation Dresden
Description
An account of the resource
Handwritten note giving brief details of the operation and a relevant newspaper cutting titled 'Dresden. 2,000-ton double RAF blow'.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PPopeKMJ18010065
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Dresden
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One handwritten note and two newspaper cuttings on an album page
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Andy Hamilton
B-17
B-24
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Lancaster
propaganda
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/106/1011/BBriggsDWNealeWv1.1.pdf
517c696d7b7ef0bf110c35395391be88
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Briggs, Donald
Donald W Briggs
D W Briggs
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-03-27
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Briggs, DW
Description
An account of the resource
21 items. The collection consists of one oral history interview with flight engineer Donald Ward Briggs (1924 - 2018), his logbook, memoirs and 16 wartime and post war photographs. He completed 62 operations with 156 Squadron Pathfinders flying from RAF Upwood. Post war, Donald Briggs retrained as a pilot flying Meteors and Canberras. He eventually joined the V-Force on Valiants and was the co-pilot for the third British hydrogen bomb test at Malden Island in 1957.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Donald Briggs and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[underlined]Tribute to a Pathfinder Captain [/underlined]
Squadron Leader William G. Neale DSO DFC Croix de Guerre
1912-2001
It was April 1944, and I had just completed the Flight Engineer training course at R.A.F. St Athan S. Wales. Shortly after arriving at R.A.F. Lindholme near Doncaster to commence training on the Halifax bomber, about twenty or so of us new Flt Engineers attended a “crewing up parade”. The crews were lined up in sixes awaiting the additional member to make a full crew of seven. The pilot in each crew broke away and approached our group. I was asked for by name and stepped forward to meet Flying Officer Bill Neal. He know from my training records that I had some limited flying experience through accompanying pilots on air tests following engine changes etc. Bill explained that his crew had all completed one tour of ops and they had been selected to go to a Pathfinder Squadron directly after four engine bomber conversion. He explained what it all meant and what the duties of a Pathfinder crew would be. Bill asked me if I would like to join his crew and I accepted without hesitation. And so it was that fate decided that I should sit alongside this outstanding pilot for the next twelve months!! All the crew were commissioned officers but Bill promised that he would do his utmost [?] to get me commissioned after completing a tour of ops. That evening I received my “initiation” into the crew at one of the local “watering holes”!! I was not allowed to buy any beer!!
As our training on Halifaxes proceeded I quickly realized my extremely good fortune in becoming part of this very experienced bomber crew. In fact on our first night navigation exercise, an engine suffered a burst coolant header tank, quickly overheated and had to be to[sic] shut down and the propeller feathered. Bill calmly and skilfully carried out his first night landing on three engines! Of course he must have done numerous single engine landings as a flying instructor on Wellingtons.
[underlined]William G. Neal (Bill to all the crew) First impressions [/underlined]
I was approaching my twentieth birthday and Bill was almost twelve years my senior. His mature friendly nature and jovial personality transmitted a feeling of well being in all who came into contact with him. I personally regarded Bill as my mentor and felt that he was the one who would get us safely through the war.
His leadership qualities were of the highest calibre, namely: great courage, example, coolness under fire, tenacity, professionalism, and the ability to maintain high morale in his crew. Above all, Bill was a superb pilot!! We were all encouraged to stay fit and healthy and our skipper set a good example by playing squash regularly!
[underlined] Operations and Training [/underlined]
[page break]
Having completed training on the Halifax, the next stage was our introduction to the magnificent Lancaster. This was accomplished at the Lancaster Finishing School RAF Hemswell nr. Lincoln. It was only a short familiarisation course, both day and night flying, and Bill was immediately “at home” with this superb aircraft! So now we were all set to join The Pathfinder Force and proceeded to the PFF Navigation Training Unit at RAF Warboys nr. St. Ives Cambs. (only five miles from RAF Upwood). It was a very short course lasting only four days. We flew a training sortie each day consisting of navigation and practice bombing. During this course I was taught how to use the bombsight, how to give corrections to our pilot, and after practice in a synthetic trainer, dropped smoke/flash bombs on a nearby bombing range. The reason for the flight engineer having to become the visual bomb aimer in a Pathfinder crew, was due to the normal bomb aimer or observer being fully pre-occupied on his radar (H2s). He would probably have to mark the target indicators (Ti’s) if the “Master Bomber” called for them.
On the 25th May 1944 we arrived at Royal Air Force Upwood to join No. 156 (PFF) Squadron.
[underlined] Our First Crew on PFF [/underlined]
[underlined] Flying Officer W.G. (Bill) Neal [/underlined]PILOT and CAPTAIN (one tour of ops on Wellingtons and recent flying instructor at RAF Harwell, Oxon)
Sergeant D.W. (Don) Briggs FLIGHT ENGINEER (ex NCO aero engine fitter)
Pilot Officer Alan Lewis NAVIGATOR (one previous tour of ops)
Flying Officer George Hodges 2nd NAVIGATOR and H2S RADAR OPERATOR (one previous tour of ops on Wellingtons)
Flying Officer John Carrad WIRELESS OPERATOR (one previous tour of ops on Wellingtons)
Flying Officer “Jock” McViele [?] MID UPPER GUNNER (one previous tour of ops)
Flying Officer “Paddy” Kirk REAR GUNNER (one previous tour of ops)
The settling in period for the crew before commencing operations, was about two weeks of intensive training flights. These involved mostly radar navigation, practice bombing, fighter evasion which gave Bill some “corkscrewing” practice (we had a Spitfire making simulated fighter attacks from astern). Needless to say the gunners had their guns safe!! They were able to get live firing practice later on a sleeve being towed by special aircraft – even I had a go after being shown how to operate the guns in the front turret!!
During our training on the Halifax at Lindholme, Bill had very kindly given me an introductory flying lesson (I had never handled an aircraft in flight before!) After taking my place in the pilot’s seat, he showed me how to maintain the correct nose altitude for level flight and how to use the roll control to level the wings also make gentle turns. Once we were established on the Squadron we had a training commitment in navigation and bombing to fulfil. This was necessary in order to “hone” our skills and maintain the very high standards demanded of PATHFINDER crews. During most of these flights Bill and I would change places and under his close supervision, I would take control of the big Lancaster – what a fantastic feeling! By
[page break]
giving me plenty of handling practice, Bill, being a very responsible captain was ensuring that someone was capable of flying the aircraft in emergency. Thus I can take pride in saying that my first flying lessons were given by the excellent Bill Neal!! It’s worth noting that no Lancaster on the squadron was equipped with dual controls, which is why it was necessary for the pilot to vacate his seat to allow me to fly the aircraft.
We were now declared “fully operational” and on 11th July 1944 Bill called us together and said “we’re on the Battle Order for tonight chaps”! We lost no time in getting our flying kit on, then carry out a thorough check of our aircraft that we would be flying on the raid and by a short air test. The aircraft would then be prepared for the operational sortie by our ground crew (they were a dedicated band of men and took great pride in their own Lancaster). The fuel load was usually maximum. Then last of all would come the bomb load on special trolleys quite often towed by a W.A.A.F. The bombing up team would then winch the bombs/flares/Target Indicators into the bomb bay.
After a few hours rest in the afternoon it was time to attend a mass briefing. The target for our Op No. 1 was to be the marshalling yard at TOURS in Southern France. With all the flight planning completed we sat down to a good pre flight meal then made our way to the locker room. The air gunners had to wear plenty of warm clothing, as the outside air temperature at twenty thousand feet could be -10oC[?] and very little heat from the aircraft system reached the turrets. Both gunners were issued with electrically heated thermal suits and gauntlets. The rest of the crew wore thick rollneck pullovers under the battledress jacket and of course everyone wore fleece lined suede flying boots. Each crew member had his own parachute harness and chest[?] type parachutes were issued separately. We then boarded coaches and were dropped off at our own aircraft. The ground crew were already at the aircraft and the Form 700 (servicing record) was presented to Bill for signature. After the obligatory external inspection including an inspection of the bomb load and removal of safety pins, each crew member took up his position in the aircraft. It was my job to start all the engines when our skipper gave the order, and we had a precise time to start taxying. To see twenty or so Lancasters in a stream round the perimeter track was a thrilling sight!! There was always a crowd of station personnel by the side of the runway to see us off (lots of W.A.A.F.’s!!) It was vital that each bomber took off precisely on its allocated time. When it was our turn, Bill entered the runway lining up the heavily loaded Lancaster as close to the end as he could. At the end of the navigator’s countdown, Bill used to say “OK chaps as the earwig said – EARWIGO”!! as he advanced the throttles to full power accelerating down the runway for a perfect take off. Ask my ex Lancaster crew member and he will tell you what a wonderful sound those four Merlins made at full power!! I suspect the “earwig” saying was not only routine but superstition also, but it was part of every operational take off for our crew.
Once we had set course and were climbing to operational height the “butterflies” disappeared as we all had plenty to do. The flight engineer’s log had to be completed every half hour, recording all engine gauge readings and that fuel usage was according to plan. It was vital not to show any light in the cockpit. Bill’s flight instruments were dimly lit by u/v lights directed on to the luminous dials, and I had to use a torch with a very small hole in the blacked out glass when filling in my log.
[page break]
Both navigators worked under black out curtains. We had a very strict microphone discipline in a bomber crew. If a mic. Was left ON after saying something there was a hissing noise caused by oxygen flowing into the mask[?]. It was essential to keep the intercom quiet in case the gunners reported a night fighter and called “corkscrew (port or starboard) GO”. Our skipper Bill was a strong chap and could certainly throw a Lancaster around!! On my very first op with the crew I had my “baptism” in the form of two fighter attacks. Paddy our rear gunner saw the fighter before he could get in close and during the violent corkscrewing the four brownings in the rear turret made a noisy “clatter”. This was exciting stuff for the new crew member!!! In both attacks the fighter’s shots went wide and he broke away.
On this sortie and several more night ops to follow we were part of the “illuminating force”. This meant that we were one of the first to arrive at the target and would drop a stick of very bright parachute flares to enable the Master Bomber to visually identify the aiming point. He would be either a Lancaster or a Mosquito at a low altitude and would then drop cascading target indicators (mixed reds and greens). Further pathfinder aircraft were required to “back up” the marking by dropping more TI’s. Later in our tour we took on this role. Although anti aircraft fire (flak) on our first series of French targets was not intense, German targets were very heavily defended. Our first German target was Hamburg (op no. 13!!) and as we prepared for our bombing run the barrage of flak looked terrifying. Just as I was having doubts whether we could get through it, Bill said “don’t worry it always looks worse than it really is and the puffs of flak you see are the ones that can’t do any harm”. I felt slightly better!! The flak guns were radar predicted and the Germans had developed accurate height finding equipment. To make their job more difficult we used to fly a “weaving” course initially until the actual bombing run when the aircraft had to be held steady apart from small left and right corrections from bomb aimer to pilot. This is when we were most vulnerable to predicted flak and being "coned" by searchlights. Even after bomb release we still had to maintain heading until over the target and the photograph taken. This was a great relief to all the crew as it meant that Bill would usually dive for a few hundred feet then climb again and so on, until well clear of the target area. Our route away from the target was always planted to keep us clear of heavily defended areas, however, the threat from night fighters was ever present. Some ME110 fighters were fitted with upward firing canon. The pilot would fly formation below the bomber (in a blind spot to the gunners) and fire upwards with devastating results. In our Lancasters at the bomb aimer’s position there was a rearward facing perspex scoop through which we used to drop bundles of “window” (each containing millions of thin strips of silver foil to fog the enemy radar screens). I used to spend as much time as possible with my head down looking through this perspex in case a fighter was underneath.
One of the most sickening and demoralising sights was to witness a bomber aircraft being shot down. The bomber would be spinning down in a mass of flames and when it impacted (possibly with a full bomb load) there would be a massive explosion and fireball. Our navigator would make a note of the time and position, then we tried to put it out of our minds. Throughout our operational tours this experience was to be repeated many many times. We felt great sadness at the loss of our comrades, but thankful that we were spared.
It was a relief to be back over friendly territory on the way home and once we were
[page break]
crossing the North Sea the gunners could relax slightly. The aerodrome lights of Upwood were a most welcome sight and the controller had his work cut out fitting all the returning Lancasters into the circuit. Bill invariably brought our machine in for a well judged landing, tired though he must have been! Our ground crew were there on the dispersal to greet us climbing out of our trusty Lancaster and were always keen to know which target we had bombed. WAAFs with mugs of hot coffee laced with rum and the Padre having a chat as he handed out American cigarettes!! Then followed a debriefing by the intelligence officer and other specialists. Many times I remember walking back to the Mess for breakfast as dawn was breaking!
Some ops were very long flights (see record of operations following) and one might well ask “how did you stay awake and fully alert the whole time”? Well we had the option of taking “wakey wakey” pills as we used to call them. They were actually Benzodrine tablets (a stimulant) and most of us took them.
The remainder of our operation followed the general pattern previously described, however, we flew many daylight ops particularly in support of our ground forces on the Normandy Battle Front. We also attacked flying bomb sites in the Pas de Calais area using a special method. Six Lancasters flew close formation on a Mosquito equipped with “Oboe” (an extremely accurate blind bombing device). At the same split second the bomb left the Mosquito every Lancaster released its full load of bombs. Thus the V1(buzz bomb) site was totally obliterated possibly saving the lives of many Londoners. Ops 2, 3 and 4 were carried out on successive nights but were all fairly short trips to targets in France. On 14th October 1944 we flew a daylight raid on Duisburg in the morning, and with hardly any rest, attacked the same target that night! The target was an armaments factory in the Rhur and was heavily defended.
After completing my first tour (40 ops) having already had my commissioning interviews, sure enough exactly as Bill had promised, my commission came through. I was now able to join Bill and the rest of the crew in the Officers Mess.
At this Bill had completed[underlined] two tours [/underlined] of ops and decided to keep going as did Johnie Carrod, George Hodges, and of course myself (I wanted to complete two tours also). However, Alan Lewis (nav), Paddy Kirk and Jock McVitie (the two gunners) decided to “call it a day”. Thus our crew became:-
Flight Lieutenant (later Sqn. Ldr.) Bill Neal DFC Captain
Pilot Officer Don Briggs Flight Engineer
Flight Lieutenant George Hodges DFC H2S Radar Operator
Sergeant …..? Archer RCAF Navigator
Flight Lieutenant John Carrod DFC Wireless Operator
Flight Sergeant (later Warrant Officer) …..? Patterson (Mid Upper Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Eric Chamberlain Rear Gunner
And so we pressed on! From then on every op except one was a German target. We flew some very long trips (two of them were over [underlined] (eight hours)[underlined] Our longest flight was to Stettin
[page break]
On the Baltic coast – almost to Russia – eight and a half hours! That was stretching a Lancaster endurance to its limits I seem to remember.
We bombed Chemnitz and Dessau in Eastern Germany and of course on 13th Feb.1945, we were sent to Dresden. The firestorm was an awesome sight.
On the 24th March 1945 I flew my last operational sortie with Bill – it was a daylight raid on a Rhur target!
No words can do justice to the piloting skill, leadership, and fearless tenacity, coupled with the ability to maintain high morale, of our Captain, Comrade in Battle, and good friend, William G. Neal – Bill to all of us in his Lancaster bomber crew.
It was an honour to be part of his team, and I shall be eternally thankful that he got me through the most dangerous era of my life. Sadly, Bill Neal died on the 22nd November 2001. I shall miss him enormously.
[underlined] RECORD OF OPERATIONS [/underlined]
OPS 1 11th June 1944 Lanc III “J” (NE120) TOURS (M/Yards) 5hrs 55min.
OPS 2 15th June “ Lanc III “B” LENS 2hrs 20min.
OPS 3 16th June “ Lanc III “A” RENESCURE 2hrs 05min.
OPS 4 17th June “ Lanc III “H” MONTDIDIER 3hrs 30min.
OPS 5 24th June “ Lanc III “K” MIDDEL STRAETE 2hrs 15min.
OPS 6 27th June “ Lanc III “J” OISEMONT 2hrs 30 min.
OPS 7 2nd July “ Lanc III “J” OISEMONT 2hrs 50min.
OPS 8 7th July “ Lanc III “J” VAIRES (M/Yards nr PARIS) 4hrs 25min.
OPS 9 10th July “ Lanc III “J” NUCOURT 3hrs 00
OPS 10 12th July “ Lanc III “J” TOURS 5hrs 05min.
OPS 11 14th July “ Lanc III “J” PHILIBERT 3hrs 05
OPS 12 18th July “ Lanc III “J” CAGNY (Battle Front)
Wg.Cdr.Bingham-Hall Sqn. 2hrs. 50
OPS 13 28th July “ Lanc III “F” HAMBURG 4hrs 55
OPS 14 30th July “ Lanc III “K” BATTLE FRONT (Low level) 3hrd 05
OPS 15 3rd Aug. “ Lanc III “J” BOIS De CASSAN 3HRS 35
OPS 16 5th Aug. “ Lanc III “F” FORET De NIEPPE 2hrs 05
OPS 17 7th Aug. “ Lanc III “J” BATTLE FRONT A/P 5 2hrs 45
OPS 18 9th Aug. “ Lanc III “F” FORT D’ENGLOS 2hrs 20
OPS 19 12th Aug. “ Lanc III “D” RUSSELSHEIM (nr FRANKFURT) 4hrs 20
OPS 20 15th Aug. “ Lanc III “J” EINDHOVEN Airfield (Holland) 2 hrs 55
OPS 21 16th Aug. “ Lanc III “H” KIEL 5hrs 25
OPS 22 18th Aug. “ Lanc III “E” CONNANTRE (M/Yards) 5hrs 20
OPS 23 25th Aug. “ Lanc III “J” RUSSELSHEIM 7hrs 20
OPS 24 29th Aug. “ Lanc III “J” STETTIN (Our longest flight) 8hrs 30
OPS 25 31st Aug. “ Lanc III “D” LUMBRES 2hrs 35
OPS 26 15th Sept. “ Lanc III “J” KIEL 5hrs 05
[page break]
OPS 27 16th Sept. “ Lanc III “J” MOERDUK Bridges (Holland) 2hrs 55
OPS 28 20th Sept. “ Lanc III “J” CALAIS Area A/P 6B 2hrs 10
OPS 29 23rd Sept. “ Lanc III “J” NEUSS (DUSSELDORF) 3hrs 30
OPS 30 25th Sept. “ Lanc III ”A” CALAIS Area A/P IC 2hr 55
OPS 31 26th Sept. “ Lanc III ”A” CAP GRIS NEZ (CALAIS) 2hrs 30
OPS 32 27th Sept. “ Lanc III “A” CALAIS A/P 11 1hr 50
(Our shortest Operational Sortie!)
OPS 33 5th Oct. “ Lanc III “K” SAARBRUCKEN 5hrs 00
OPS 34 7th Oct. “ Lanc III “J” KLEVE (Flak damage to port wing) 3hrs 20
OPS 35 14th Oct. “ Lanc III “J” DUISBURG (RHUR) 3hrs 30
OPS 36 14th Oct. “ Lanc III “A” DUISBURG 4hrs 10
(Twice in one day!!!)
OPS 37 18th Nov. “ Lanc III “J” MUNSTER (Plt. Off. Don!!) 3hrs 50
OPS 38 28th Nov. “ Lanc III “J” ESSEN (RHUR) 4hrs 30
OPS 39 30th Nov. “ Lanc III “B” DUISBURG (RHUR) 4hrs 25
OPS 40 5th Dec. “ Lanc III “J” SOEST M/Yards (End of my
First tour of ops!) 5hrs 40
OPS 41 6th Dec. “ Lanc III “J” OSNABRUCK 5hrs 15
OPS 42 29th Dec. “ Lanc III “J” COBLENZ 4hrs 15
OPS 43 2nd January 1945 Lanc III “J” NURNBURG 7hrs 40
OPS 44 4th Jan. “ Lanc III “J” ROYAN (Nr. Bordeaux) 5hrs 05
OPS 45 5th Jan. “ Lanc III “J” HANOVER 4hrs
OPS 46 14th Jan. “ Lanc III “J” LEUNA (Morsburg) Oil Plant
(Diverted Tangmere – fog at Upwood) 8hrs 05
OPS 47 16th Jan. “ Lanc III “J” ZEITZ (Oil Plant Nr. Leipzig) 6hrs 30
OPS 48 28th Jan. “ Lanc III “0” STUTTGART
(Flew with Flt. Lt. Williams) 6hrs 00
OPS 49 7th Feb. “ Lanc III “J” GOCH (Bombed from 4500ft) 4hrs 40
OPS 50 8th Feb. “ Lanc III “B” POLLITZ (STETTIN) 8hrs 05
OPS 51 13th Feb. “ Lanc III “J” [underlined] DRESDEN [/underlined] 7hrs 45
OPS 52 1st March “ Lanc III “J” MANNHIEM 5hrs 05
OPS 53 5th March “ Lanc III “J” CHEMNITZ 7hrs 40
OPS 54 7th March “ Lanc III “J” DESSAU 7hrs 50
OPS 55 8th March “ Lanc III “J” HAMBURG 5hrs 15
OPS 56 12th March “ Lanc III “J” DORTMUND 4hrs 25
OPS 57 15TH March “ Lanc III “J” MISBURG Oil Refinery 6hrs 20
(Nr. Hanover)
OPS 58 16th March “ Lanc III “J” NURNBURG (3 fighter attacks) 6hrs 50
OPS 59 19th March “ Lanc III “J” HANAU Nr. Frankfurt 5hrs 45
OPS 60 20th March “ Lanc III “H” HEMMINGSTADT (Nr. Heide
30 miles South of Danish border) 4hrs 35
OPS 61 22nd March “ Lanc III “J” HILDESHIEM (Nr. Hanover) 4hrs 25
OPS 62 24TH March “ Lanc III “J” HARPENERWEG (RHUR) 4hrs 25
[page break]
[underlined] NOTES [/underlined]
Operations printed in RED were flown at night. Those printed in GREEN were daylight operations.
[underlined] Forty one [/underlined] operations were flown in Lancaster “J - Johnnie” (that would be “Juliet” in present day international phonetic alphabet).
The most concentrated months were August 1944 (eleven sorties), and March 1945 (eleven sorties)
Author: Flight Lieutenant Donald Ward Briggs, DFC RAF (Retd.)
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Title
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Tribute to a Pathfinder captain
Description
An account of the resource
Tribute to Squadron Leader William G Neal Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Flying Cross, Croix de Guerre, 1912-2001. Describes how Don Briggs met and was crewed with Bill Neal’s crew who having completed one tour had been selected for a second on Pathfinders. Describes training as well as Bill Neal’s piloting and leadership qualities. Notes that Bill Neal gave Don Briggs the opportunity to learn to fly. Describes first operation on 156 Squadron Pathfinders to Tours in France in great detail including being engaged by night fighters. Describes various Pathfinder techniques and attacking V-1 bomb sites formation on Oboe-equipped Mosquito. Describes operations over Germany with reference to ant-aircraft fire and night fighters. Explains that some of the crew including Neal and Briggs volunteered for a further tour completing a total of 62 operations. Ends with a list of all 62 operations.
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Donald Briggs
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Eight typewritten pages
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Memoir
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
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BBriggsDWNealeWv1
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IBCC Digital Archive
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
England--Cambridgeshire
France--Tours
Germany
France
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
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1944
1944-06
1944-07
1944-07-18
1944-07-30
1944-08
1944-08-07
1944-08-08
1944-08-15
1945
Contributor
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Sue Smith
David Bloomfield
156 Squadron
aerial photograph
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
bombing of Luftwaffe night-fighter airfields (15 August 1944)
bombing up
crewing up
debriefing
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Service Order
fear
flight engineer
ground personnel
H2S
Halifax
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Master Bomber
Me 110
military service conditions
Mosquito
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Oboe
Pathfinders
perimeter track
pilot
promotion
RAF Hemswell
RAF Lindholme
RAF Upwood
RAF Warboys
searchlight
superstition
tactical support for Normandy troops
target indicator
target photograph
training
V-1
V-weapon
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/501/22561/MCurnockRM1815605-171114-015.2.pdf
4b8c09d0d782ffa1333593f4d4f663f1
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Title
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Curnock, Richard
Richard Murdock Curnock
R M Curnock
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
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Curnock, RM
Date
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2016-04-18
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
92 items. An oral history interview with Warrant Officer Richard Curnock (1924, 1915605 Royal Air Force), his log book, letters, photographs and prisoner of war magazines. He flew operations with 425 Squadron before being shot down and becoming a prisoner of war.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by Richard Curnock and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
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Title
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The Kriegie June 2001
Description
An account of the resource
News-sheet of the RAF ex-POW Association. This edition covers The Bomber War book review, Branch reports from East Anglia and the South West, details of the ex-Services Referral Agency providing support, the cash handout to Far East POWs, 40 Squadron history, Obituaries, Book reviews, the 40th Association AGM, future events, a low pass over a golf course, Recco reports on ex-POWs, requests for help for books and TV, the Association's accounts and the Larry Slattery Memorial fund and finally two photographs at Fallingbostel camp.
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The RAF ex-POW Association
Date
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2001-06
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12 printed sheets
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eng
Type
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Text
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MCurnockRM1815605-171114-015
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
United States Army Air Force
Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe
Spatial Coverage
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Germany--Barth
Greece--Eleusis
Greece--Crete
Greece--Maleme
Great Britain
England--Bristol
France--Normandy
England--Plymouth
England--Stafford
England--London
England--Brighton
England--Newquay
Canada
Alberta--Edmonton
Italy--Parma
Italy--Piacenza
Italy--Brindisi
Albania
Greece--Thessalonikē
France--Saint-Nazaire
Scotland--St. Andrews
Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man
Germany--Bremen
France--Le Havre
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
France--Lorient
Croatia--Rijeka
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
France--Dunkerque
Germany--Bad Fallingbostel
Italy
France
Alberta
Germany
Croatia
Greece
England--Cornwall (County)
England--Devon
England--Gloucestershire
England--Staffordshire
England--Sussex
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
10 Squadron
103 Squadron
35 Squadron
40 Squadron
57 Squadron
77 Squadron
9 Squadron
aircrew
B-17
B-24
bale out
Blenheim
bomb aimer
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
C-47
Catalina
Distinguished Flying Medal
Dulag Luft
escaping
flight engineer
Fw 190
ground personnel
H2S
Halifax
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
Heavy Conversion Unit
Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)
Hurricane
Ju 88
Lancaster
Me 110
medical officer
memorial
mess
Mosquito
navigator
Nissen hut
Operational Training Unit
P-51
Pathfinders
Photographic Reconnaissance Unit
prisoner of war
RAF Abingdon
RAF Elsham Wolds
RAF Halton
RAF Hemswell
RAF Henlow
RAF Jurby
RAF Leeming
RAF Lindholme
RAF Lyneham
RAF Melbourne
RAF St Athan
RAF Uxbridge
Red Cross
shot down
Spitfire
sport
Stalag Luft 1
Stalag Luft 3
Stalag Luft 4
Stalag Luft 7
the long march
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/501/22514/MCurnockRM1815605-171114-006.2.pdf
b093d3095f57641bbba0152dd44d736c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Curnock, Richard
Richard Murdock Curnock
R M Curnock
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
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Curnock, RM
Date
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2016-04-18
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
92 items. An oral history interview with Warrant Officer Richard Curnock (1924, 1915605 Royal Air Force), his log book, letters, photographs and prisoner of war magazines. He flew operations with 425 Squadron before being shot down and becoming a prisoner of war.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by Richard Curnock and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Kriegie July 1999
Description
An account of the resource
The News-Sheet of the RAF ex-POW Association. This edition has news on the Annual General Meeting, visits to RAF Henlow and Stafford, Remembrance Sunday, Recco Report -stories about former POWs, a cartoon on Precision bombing, 1939, requests for donations to Albrighton's church bells, The Great Escape documentary, Obituaries, reunions of the East Anglian and North West and North Wales branches, the Caterpillar club, the Associations new web pages, RCAF Memorial at Trenton, Book reviews, the Ottawa reunion, new members and widow's lists and the Association's accounts.
Creator
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The RAF ex-POW Association
Date
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1999-07
Format
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16 printed sheets
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Identifier
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MCurnockRM1815605-171114-006
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
England--Stafford
England--Leeds
Australia
Victoria--Melbourne
New South Wales--Sydney
Belgium
Queensland--Gold Coast
England--Leicester
United States
Georgia--Andersonville
England--Northampton
England--Snettisham
England--Letchworth
Ontario--Trenton
Germany--Berlin
Ontario--Ottawa
North Africa
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
Québec--Montréal
Libya--Banghāzī
Victoria
France
Georgia
New South Wales
Queensland
Libya
Ontario
Québec
Canada
Germany
England--Norfolk
England--Northamptonshire
England--Yorkshire
England--Herefordshire
England--Leicestershire
England--Staffordshire
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
149 Squadron
207 Squadron
460 Squadron
49 Squadron
58 Squadron
aircrew
bale out
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Caterpillar Club
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Medal
Dulag Luft
escaping
flight engineer
George Cross
Halifax
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
Hurricane
Ju 88
Lancaster
Me 109
memorial
mine laying
navigator
prisoner of war
RAF Bridgnorth
RAF Cosford
RAF Halton
RAF Linton on Ouse
RAF Pocklington
RAF Spilsby
RAF St Eval
RAF West Freugh
Spitfire
Stalag Luft 1
Stalag Luft 3
Stalin, Joseph (1878-1953)
Stirling
Whitley
wireless operator
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1791/32506/LWierT500238v1.1.pdf
a4e87163f2955332acf448cb22d4dbe4
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wier, Tadeusz
T Wier
Tadeusz Wierzbowski
T Wierzbowski
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-01-22
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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Wier, T
Description
An account of the resource
24 items. The collection concerns Tadeusz Wier (b.1920) and contains his log books, memoirs, photographs and documents. He flew operations as a pilot with 300 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Michael Wier-Wierzbowski and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Requires
A related resource that is required by the described resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence.
Tadeusz Wierzbowski grew up on a farm near Zgierz, Poland. He learned to fly at the training school at Deblin and escaped from the Nazi and Russian invasions in 1939. He travelled through Romania to the Black Sea, and was in France when the Nazis invaded. He eventually arrived in Liverpool on the Andura Star in June 1940.
He flew as an instructor, training others to fly for three years, before he was posted into combat with 300 Squadron. He flew 25 operations as a Lancaster pilot from RAF Faldingworth including bombing Hitler’s Eagle’s nest at Berchtesgaden.
Tadeusz was a test pilot after the war and shortened his name to Wier to make it easier for air traffic control officers. Over his career, he flew over 40 different aircraft types from Polish RWD 8 trainers to Vampire jets.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Tadeusz Wier flying log book. One
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One photocopied booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LWierT500238v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Description
An account of the resource
Pilots flying log book for T Wier, covering the period from 12 May 1941 to 5 October 1955. Detailing his flying training, Instructor duties, operations flown and post war flying with Number 4 Ferry Pool and Number 48, 9, 27 Maintenance Units. He was stationed at RAF Newton, RAF Montrose, RAF Farnborough, RAF Hucknall, RAF Finningley, RAF Blyton, RAF Hemswell, RAF Cardington, RAF Hawarden, RAF Bassingbourn, RAF Hullavington and RAF Shawbury. Aircraft flown in were Magister, Master, Hurricane, Henley, Tiger Moth, Lysander, Oxford, Tutor, Anson, Wellington, Halifax, Lancaster, Harvard, Vampire, Prentice, Auster, Lincoln, Dominie, Martinet, Hastings, Valetta, York, Meteor, Devon, Tempest, Mosquito, Beaufighter, Chipmunk, Spitfire, Hornet, Shackleton, Dakota, Canberra, Varsity, Venom and Balliol. He flew a total of 25 operations with 300 squadron including Operations Manna, Exodus and Dodge. Targets were Wiesbaden, Cleve, Dresden, Pforzheim, Gelsenkirchen, Nuremberg, Hanau, Bochum, Bremen, Hannover, Paderborn, Kiel, Plauen, Berchtesgaden, Gouda and Rotterdam.<br /><br />This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
England--Bedfordshire
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Shropshire
England--Yorkshire
Germany--Berchtesgaden
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hanau
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Kleve (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Paderborn
Germany--Pforzheim
Germany--Wiesbaden
Netherlands--Gouda
Wales--Flintshire
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945-02-02
1945-02-03
1945-02-07
1945-02-08
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-23
1945-02-24
1945-03-13
1945-03-14
1945-03-16
1945-03-17
1945-03-19
1945-03-20
1945-03-22
1945-03-23
1945-03-25
1945-03-27
1945-04-09
1945-04-10
1945-04-25
1945-05-02
1945-05-07
1945-05-25
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
1662 HCU
18 OTU
300 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
Beaufighter
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
C-47
Dominie
Flying Training School
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 5
Harvard
Heavy Conversion Unit
Hurricane
Lancaster
Lincoln
Lysander
Magister
Martinet
Meteor
Mosquito
Operation Dodge (1945)
Operation Exodus (1945)
Operation Manna (29 Apr – 8 May 1945)
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
RAF Bassingbourn
RAF Blyton
RAF Cardington
RAF Farnborough
RAF Finningley
RAF Hawarden
RAF Hemswell
RAF Hucknall
RAF Hullavington
RAF Newton
RAF Shawbury
Shackleton
Spitfire
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
York
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1389/35980/LBarberT1047323v2.2.pdf
45149aecb9614bc718c3adfbc7621fe3
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Connock, Mike
Michael Connock
M Connock
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-02-24
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Connock, M
Description
An account of the resource
Eight items. The collection concerns (Royal Air Force) and contains people who served with 50 and 61 Squadrons at RAF Skellingthorpe.
They include:
W Dixon
GR Williamson
BV Robinson
GA Walker
L Barber
HJ Whitwell
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Mike Connock and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
T Barber’s Royal Canadian Air Force Flying Log Book. Two
Description
An account of the resource
T. Barber’s Royal Canadian Air Force Flying Log Book for Aircrew other than Pilot from 27th June 1943 to 6th May 1945 detailing his training, operations and instructional duties as an Air Bomber. He was stationed at RCAF Station Paulson (No. 7 Bombing and Gunnery School), RCAF Station Portage la Prairie (No.7 Air Observer School), RAF Penrhos (No. 9 (Observers) Advanced Flying Unit, RAF North Luffenham (29 OTU), RAF Winthorpe (1661 HCU), RAF Syerston (No. 5 Lancaster Finishing School), RAF Skellingthorpe (50 Squadron) and RAF Desborough (84 OTU). Aircraft in which flown: Anson I, Anson IV, Bolingbroke, Wellington III, Stirling and Lancaster. He flew a total of 35 operations (8 day, 27 night). Targets in Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Norway and Poland were: Bergen, Bohlen, Boulogne, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Brüx, Dortmund, Dortmund-Emms canal, Dresden, Düren, Düsseldorf, Essen, Flushing, Gdynia, Giessen, Harburg, Heilbronn, Homberg, Houffalize, Kaiserslautern, Karlsruhe, Mittelland-Emms canal, Munich, Münster, Pölitz, Rheydt, Rositz, Sassnitz, Siegen, Urft dam and Weser-Emms canal. His pilot on operations was Flying Officer Firmin.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1945
1944-09-17
1944-09-18
1944-09-19
1944-09-20
1944-09-23
1944-09-24
1944-09-26
1944-09-27
1944-09-28
1944-10-06
1944-10-07
1944-10-23
1944-10-28
1944-10-29
1944-11-01
1944-11-02
1944-11-03
1944-11-04
1944-11-05
1944-11-06
1944-11-07
1944-11-11
1944-11-12
1944-11-21
1944-11-22
1944-12-04
1944-12-05
1944-12-06
1944-12-07
1944-12-08
1944-12-09
1944-12-27
1944-12-30
1944-12-31
1945-01-01
1945-01-02
1945-01-16
1945-01-17
1945-02-01
1945-02-02
1945-02-03
1945-02-08
1945-02-09
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-15
1945-02-19
1945-02-20
1945-03-05
1945-03-06
1945-03-07
1945-03-11
1945-03-12
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
Canada
Czech Republic
France
Germany
Great Britain
Norway
Poland
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
England--Lincolnshire
England--Northamptonshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Rutland
Belgium--Houffalize
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
Germany--Altenburg (Landkreis)
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Bremerhaven
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Düren (Cologne)
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Euskirchen (Kreis)
Germany--Giessen (Hesse)
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Heilbronn
Germany--Homberg (Kassel)
Germany--Kaiserslautern
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Mittelland Canal
Germany--Munich
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
Germany--Rheydt
Germany--Sassnitz
Germany--Siegen
Germany--Weser-Ems Region
Manitoba--Dauphin Area
Manitoba--Portage la Prairie
Netherlands--Vlissingen
Norway--Bergen
Poland--Gdynia
Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)
Wales--Gwynedd
Netherlands
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Manitoba
Czech Republic--Most
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LBarberT1047323v2
1661 HCU
29 OTU
50 Squadron
84 OTU
Advanced Flying Unit
Air Observers School
aircrew
Anson
Bolingbroke
bomb aimer
bombing
Bombing and Gunnery School
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Lancaster Mk 1
Operational Training Unit
RAF Desborough
RAF North Luffenham
RAF Penrhos
RAF Skellingthorpe
RAF Syerston
RAF Winthorpe
Stirling
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/641/32464/BSmithJSmithJv1-2.1.pdf
fa99ddac1408d0948f187f5b15dccf96
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Smith, Jack
John George Smith
J G Smith
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Smith, JG
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. An oral history interview with John 'Jack' Smith (1921 -2019) and his memoirs. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 189 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by John Smith and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Sparks in the Air
These are the wartime recollections of Pinchbeck resident John George Smith known to his friends as Jack.
Jack was born in 1921, the son of George and Bessie Smith. George was the keeper of a smallholding, raising Poultry and assisting a local farmer.
[photograph of Jack]
As a young teenager growing up in 1930’s England, through the newspapers of the day, Jack was aware of events taking place in Germany and of Britain’s own Fascist problems directed by Oswald Mosley. Although still only a teenager, Jack approached the time he would leave school realising that another war in Europe was inevitable.
Jack left Donington Grammar School in1937 his parents and relatives asking the question “What are you going to do?” Jack had an ambition to become a Chartered Accountant however this required any potential candidate to pay an indenture however the cost was prohibitive and Jack decided to try and join the RAF instead. Ironically jack encountered the same obstacles as his Father who had been unable to join up to serve his country during the First World War because of the poor state of his teeth. At the age of 17, Jack had 22 teeth removed!
Having seen an advert in the Spalding Free Press for “Well educated youth required by Chartered Accountants, Hodgson, Harris & Co”, a national company who had a small office in Spalding over Gibbs shoe shop, Jack applied and got his first job. There was no payment to the company however it only had a low wage of ten shillings a week. There were no girls in the office and as a consequence Jack had to learn shorthand typing to a standard of 100 words/minute, this alongside learning accountancy.
[bold] This is Jacks[sic] account of his wartime memories. [/bold]
When war broke out on 3rd September 1939 recruiting for the forces had started at 20 years plus however I was only 18 at the time. Accountancy was not a reserved occupation and in the August of 1940 I and my colleague Bill Taylor who was the same age as me and worked in the same office both decided to volunteer for the RAF as we didn’t fancy the Army or the Navy.
In September 1940 we were called to the RAF station at Padgate near Warrington to be attested and undergo a medical. Bill and I undertook intelligence tests but we both knew that we wanted to be Wireless Operators.
[page break]
Although the war was now into its second year, there had been as yet no air raids in South Lincolnshire. Whilst at Padgate we suffered ten air raid warnings but fortunately no damage was inflicted on the airfield. It was my first experience of an air raid. This took place over the 13th, 14th and 15th of September and later became known as the Battle of Britain weekend when British fighters shot down 185 German planes.
After my three days at Padgate I returned home to Lincolnshire and on the 4th November 1940 I and my friend Bill Taylor were required to travel to Blackpool. We left from Donington and travelled by train via Manchester arriving at Blackpool in the late afternoon. We were directed to Offices in the centre of Blackpool where we were officially enrolled in the Royal Air Force. Bill and I were then separated and I was lodged at a boarding house at 30 Reads Avenue Blackpool where another 15 RAF personnel were also residing. I was accommodated in the attic where there was a single fanlight, two beds and a wash basin.
The next morning we assembled on the promenade near to the Hotel Metropole. Grouped into Units of approximately thirty, we were placed in the charge of an Acting Corporal. We commenced drill training and were marched around Blackpool for exercise stopping around mid morning at a Café for coffee and buns!
As we were potential Wireless Operators we were required to attend the Winter Gardens daily where we were given instruction in radio technicalities and morse training. Due to double Summertime being in operation, it was exceptionally dark when we set out for the day at 8am. I was given the role of marker to the squad and marched at the front carrying a lantern. There was no heating in the Winter Gardens where we sat throughout the day in our greatcoats breaking only for refreshments before finishing training at around 4 to 4.30 pm.
The food at the boarding house was acceptable being plain in nature but sufficient. In the evenings we were free to enjoy the night life of Blackpool but we had to be back by 10.30pm.
After I had been there for several weeks, I joined a harmonica band consisting of around ten or twelve members and we performed at concerts held in various village halls in the area. The highlight was being able to perform at the Opera House on the same bill as George Formby.
After three weeks I moved to 45 Ashburton Road along with three other RAF personnel. It was a much more homely atmosphere there, living and eating with an elderly couple who owned the property.
After another three or four weeks I moved further down Ashburton Road but only stayed for a couple of nights as it was overcrowded with five to a room. I then moved to 4 Bank Street off the promenade near to the Hotel Metropole and where I had to parade each morning. This was a private hotel and very comfortable as I shared a room with only one other member of the RAF. it was extremely convenient for excursions into town in the evenings and I was happy to remain there until it was time to move on from Blackpool.
[page break]
Radio training continued everyday and we were tested each week at the premises of Burtons the Tailors. We were required to increase morse speed by one word per minute each week until a speed of twelve words per minute had been achieved at which point the course in Blackpool was concluded.
[RAF Radio School crest]
We were then posted to radio schools on normal RAF stations. I was posted to No. 3 radio School at RAF Compton Bassett in Wiltshire which was for ground operators.
There was another radio school nearby to Compton Bassett, No. 4 at Yatesbury which was for aircrew operators.
I enjoyed life here for the first time on a proper RAF station. My day started at 6:30 am with PT on the parade ground square before starting work at 8:00 am.
I was at Compton Bassett from the end of March 1941 to the end of June which was when I qualified as a ground wireless operator and was allowed to wear ‘sparks’ on my right arm.
Having successfully completed training I was allowed home for two weeks leave. This was my first leave since travelling to Blackpool the previous November. I thoroughly enjoyed the break and whilst there I received a posting to the RAF station at Bramcote near Nuneaton. This was a regular peacetime station however at this time it was mainly occupied by members of the Polish Air Force. This was my first experience of an operational signals cabin and for the first time working for real with a radio set.
After several weeks at Bramcote, at the end of July, I was notified I was going on embarkation leave. After three weeks leave I had to make my way to the RAF station at West Kirby in the Wirral Peninsula. On arrival here, I found that several of my fellow colleagues who had been at radio school were also awaiting the same posting. We were all accommodated in tents.
[photograph]
POLISH Aircrew RAF - Fairey Battle Mk 1 sun L5427 BH*E of 300 (Polish) Bomb Squadron “Mazoviecka Province” - RAF Bramcote August 1940 -
[page break]
After several days we were moved by RAF transport into Liverpool for embarkation. The docks were very busy with movement of troops. We marched in units towards the vessel we were to leave England on. This vessel was the Orient Liner SS OTRANTO. Otranto was a 20,000grt passenger vessel that had been modified as a troop carrier. Some 500 RAF personnel embarked along with 3000 men of the Yorkshire Regiment. The decks of the ship went from A to H. RAF personnel were accommodated on E deck which was the last level with portholes.
[photograph]
There were eighteen on each mess table, we slept in hammocks and the toilets were primitive. Ten toilets without doors so there was no privacy. We knew nothing of our destination as security was so tight. On each mess table, two of the men were nominated as mess orderlies and had to bring the food from the galley. I was lumbered with one of these jobs!
After being on board for 24 hours, we departed Liverpool. For me this was quite an experience having never been on a Liner before. It was quite a bright day on 31st August 1941 and our course followed the coast of Northern Ireland. We all started to take a guess at our destination and some of us thought we may be off to Canada to start our Air Crew training.
For a day or so we headed due what until we were well clear of the Irish coast and out into the Atlantic. We were under escort of a number of Royal Navy vessels including two Battle Ships, the ill fated HMS REPULSE and HMS PRINCE OF WALES.
[photograph]
Repulse
[photograph]
Prince of Wales
[page break]
There was very little to do onboard and very little reading material available. The only book that seemed to be in circulation was ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’. After some time a number of personnel got sick and went off their food. It reached a point that on my table only myself and one other Mess Orderly were eating. A number of the party were literally very green and extremely poorly.
The vessel eventually altered to a southerly course from its westward heading, still under escort, many of us spent a lot of time just sleeping and looking over the side watching the waves. Some spent their time writing letters intending to drop them off at the first port of call. All letters were censored prior to posting and in fact one of my associates was identified by the OIC as having referred to the Commanding Officer as bring “nothing more than a broken down commercial traveller”. As a result he was brough before the CO and given 7 days confinement to barracks which in this case was a cell in the depths of the ship on deck ‘H’.
Several days later the vessel changed to an easterly direction giving rise to further speculation as to our destination. Eventually we made landfall on the west coast of Africa, berthing at Freetown where we stayed for a week. This was a very boring seven days as we were not allowed shore leave. We amused ourselves by watching the local boys jumping into the harbour to retrieve coins that were being thrown into the water by army personnel. The temperature was extremely hot and the humidity was high.
At the end of the week we left Freetown and the vessel headed in a southerly direction. We now assumed our destination to be South Africa. As we were now in a consistently hot climate, some of us erected our hammocks on deck where it was much cooler to sleep.
The next sighting of land was that of “Table Mountain” on the Cape however to our surprise we did not call at Capetown but carried on further along the South African coast eventually calling at Durban. We stayed here for a week and during that time were allowed shore leave daily. We were kindly entertained by South Africans who took us to restaurants and hotels for meals and tours in the neighbouring countryside.
The weather was perfect and this was a really enjoyable and welcome break. We were extremely surprised that none of us were staying on in South Africa. We Aircrew thought that we may have been going on to Southern Rhodesia to continue air training – no such luck ,,,,,!
At the end of this week we once again set sail along with our escort of Battleships heading east into the Indian Ocean. We sailed for several days before Repulse and Prince of Wales left us. No one could have imagined that only a few months later both these mighty ships had been sent to the bottom of the South China sea sunk by land based bombers and torpedo bombers of the Imperial Japanese Navy on 10th December 1941. In Japan the engagement was referred to as the Naval Battle of Malaya (Mare-oki Kaisen).
We were more fortunate with our destination as the Otranto finally docked in Bombay (Mumbai) India. Once again we were alongside for a week and were entertained on pleasure trips. I found Bombay to be a very exciting and busy place.
At the end of this week, we Aircrew were taken off the SS Otranto and transferred to a much smaller vessel, the SS KHEDIVE ISMAIL complete with its Lascar crew. Of 7513 grt, formerly the SS ACONCAGUA, built in 1922 as an Ocean Liner and converted to a troop ship in 1940.
[page break]
We eventually left Bombay heading West and once clear of India we were advised that we were going to Basrah in Iraq. This revelation was our first indication as to our final destination.
There was very little comfort onboard and hammocks were again the order of the day. The Lascar crew were very helpful and attentive and at night whilst in our hammocks they would come around with a bucket of tea or chai as they called it. This was very refreshing especially with the temperature as high as it was.
Although the food onboard was quite acceptable, the toilet arrangements were primitive, consisting of a trough the width of the vessel with wood seats where you sat side by side with your fellow airmen – Absolutely no privacy whatsoever …..!
We were off into the Arabian Sea without any sight of land until we entered the Straits of Hormuz, being the entrance to the Persian Gulf. We now had no escorts and sailed on alone through the tranquil waters of the Persian Gulf in very high temperatures and daily sunshine.
[photograph of SS Khedive Ismail]
Land eventually came into sight as we approached the Northern end of the Gulf and we eventually arrived at the Port of Basrah which was a very busy port.
After disembarking, we were directed to a very large cargo shed on the dockside where we were to stay for the next few days. We only had beds made from boards and raised off the floor on four empty biscuit tins. The luxury was completed with one blanket and a small pillow. The temperature at this point was most uncomfortable.
Whilst awaiting a posting, we were able to go into Barrah itself and sample the local life. The authorities were slightly puzzled as there were some fifty of us qualified Wireless Operators and they were not at all sure what to do with us. This took some time to sort out. Eventually a few of us were posted to Shuaiba which is now the second largest port in the State of Kuwait. At that time it was a camp about ten miles out of Basrah which had been a peacetime RAF camp.
The accommodation at Shuaiba was of brick constructed buildings having been built partly below ground to try and reduce the heat as during the height of the season temperatures exceeded 40 deg’s. I spent quite some time carrying out general duties until one morning an order for volunteers for anybody who could type was requested. By this time I was rather tired of filling sand bags and doing guard duty. As I could type and do shorthand, I decided I would risk it and volunteered. I immediately became the Squadron typist and carried out all the office work and correspondence for the C.O.
After a week or so the Squadron was posted to Sharjah a British Protectorate which is now a part of the United Arab Emirates. The squadron consisted of 18 Blenheim aircraft all of which were ex OUT and were not terribly serviceable.
[page break]
The Blenheims were required for anto[sic] submarine patrols up and down the Persian Gulf and out into the Indian Ocean. We were moved to Sharjah by boat and disembarked by dhow into the then village of Dubai. We continued by road transport to Sharjah where we were billeted in huts which had the luxury of fans.
On the edge of the airport was a stone built structure known as the ‘Fort’. This was well equipped as it was used by BOAC crew for overnight stops. Because of the very high temperatures, the Mechanics could only work on the aircraft until 10am and then cease until 6pm. It was so hot an egg could be fried on the wings of aircraft.
Water was in short supply and the only bathing was done in the sea which was about half a mile away. We only had a small supply of fresh water for shaving and tea was rationed. Food was very repetative with many combinations of risoles you have never seen the like of.
Once every fortnight we were allowed American beer which equated to about four half pint cans which were consumed in one night. We used to leave the empty cans outside our billets and by morning they would have been removed by the locals. If you then happened to go into the village of Dubai, these cans could be seen on sale as mugs, having had handles attached.
Although I was trained wireless operator, I was still being misemployed as Squadron Typist which mean that I could not be reclassified and so remained an AC2. However, I eventually took the AC1 examination and was upgraded. Like all the other Wireless Operators out there, we all wanted to get back to complete our Air Crew training. The Adjutant suggested I re muster as a Radio Observer which meant I could go to Southern Rhodesia for training or alternatively consider obtaining a commission as a Filter Officer.
Whilst at Sharjah I suffered quite badly from ‘prickly heat’ which developed into blisters requiring my admission to the base sick bay. I also had heat exhaustion around the time of my 21st birthday, running a temperature of 106 degs.
I was taken to the Fort at the edge of the camp which had air conditioned rooms. My skin problems got progressively worse and I had to have by head completely shaved. I received treatment with bread poultices on my arms and legs which became septic.
[photograph of an aeroplane]
Eventually I was taken by air to the RAF Hospital at Shuaibah and spent 2-3 weeks there recovering in the dermatology ward. At the end of my hospitalisation, I was posted to Tehran in Iran on sick leave. I travelled by road transport through the town of Ahwaz in Iran and then by train to Tehran. This journey took 24 hours. The train was completely full with people sleeping not just on the seats but also on the luggage racks and corridors.
[page break]
When the train stopped in the early morning there were many locals selling eggs and bread on the platform which was very welcome. On reaching Tehran we were taken to a rest home on the edge of the city. It had pleasant facilities. We used to go into Tehran in groups of 3 or 4 personnel.
Towards the end of the two weeks, I developed tonsillitis which resulted in my being taken to the Sick Bay at the RAF Station at Tehran where I remained for a further ten days. The MO allowed me to remain in Tehran until I felt well enough to travel to Basrah but after about a week, I became quite lonely as all my colleagues had by then left.
After arriving back in Basrah I was then posted to Habbaniya, a real peacetime RAF station about fifty five miles West of Baghdad. I was extremely pleased to receive this posting as the climate at Sharjah did not suit me at all.
Habbaniya was quite a large base, all brick buildings including two cinemas and a range of shops where you could buy clothing etc. Surprisingly even the food in the Airmans[sic] mess was exceptionally good! There were also facilities for sporting activities including tennis courts.
We had local youths acting as what we called “cheekos” who did our laundry and kept the village clean. There were 16 men in each billet and we all paid the equivalent of two shillings per week for this domestic assistance. It was always done promptly and efficiently. Each billet had fans as temperatures were around thirty to forty degrees. I was employed as a Ground operator in a Signals Cabin on a shift system, working stations in the UK and India.
I found this to be very enjoyable work.
[bold] NOTES ON RAF HABBANIYA, IRAQ [/bold]
There were numerous billets, messes and a wide range of leisure facilities including swimming pools, cinemas and theatres, sports pitches, tennis courts and riding stables. It was self-contained with its own power station, water purification plant and sewage farm. Within the base was the Civil Cantonment for the civilian workers and their families and the families of the RAF Iraq Levies. Water taken from the Euphrates for the irrigation systems enabled green lawns, flower beds and even ornamental Botanical Gardens. After World War II the families of British personnel started living at Habbaniya and a school was started.
The base at Habbaniya was used by the RAF from October 1936 to the end of May 1959, Not quite a year following the July 1958 revolution.
In recent years Habbiniya was used for the manufacture of mustard gas which was used against Iranian troops during the Iran Iraq war.
[map of the area]
[page break]
[centred] The Journey Home (Habininyah to the UK) [/centred]
On a February morning in 1943, I was sleeping in the billet after having been on a night shift when I was awoken by some excited discussion. This was caused by a sergeant from the Orderly room reading out a list of names of Operators being posted back to the UK to resume Aircrew training and my name was on the list! It was then necessary to get clearance from the OIC of Signals – so off we went! However the Officer said that as we were all experienced Ground Operators, we could not leave until replacements arrived and this took five months until July.
There were six of us with our kit bags that were put on to an open lorry to start our return journey to England. We travelled due west over the Iraqi desert. The temperature was around 40 degs C and after about four hours we stopped for refreshment and toilet relief. The stop took place at a point on the “Oil Line” known as H3.
We carried on, passing through the small town of Al Rutbah which was the only sign of any habitation that we had thus far seen. Before darkness we stopped for the night somewhere near to the Syrian/Jordanian border, having to make ourselves as comfortable as possible on our kitbags.
The next morning we resumed our journey travelling just north of the Dead Sea until we arrived in a small coastal town in Gaza just South of Tel Aviv. We were in a small transit camp with brick billets, completely unfurnished. We had to sleep on a blanket on a stone floor and in the morning we all had a large number of insect bites!
After spending a couple of days on a Mediterranean beach we embarked on a train for Cairo. It was a pleasant journey as it followed the coast and at each station there were vendors of eggs and bread. On arrival in Cairo we were taken by truck to the RAF base at Almaza, a few miles out of town. On this occasion we were accommodated in small (2 person) tents whilst we awaited the Liner which would return us to the UK.
After ten days in Almaza, we Wireless Operators were taken to Alexandria where we boarded a large Liner. Unfortunately I never knew its name however it apparently was the first ship to go through the Mediterranean since it was closed at the beginning of the war. We docked in Algiers for two days and the day after we sailed away, the Luftwaffe attacked Algiers. Our next stop was Gibralter where every night depth charges were set off at intervals as a deterrent to U-Boats. However during our five night stay there was no air raid.
The last leg of the journey was north into the Atlantic and around Ireland into the River Clyde. This was uneventful but as we sailed into Greenock it was wonderful to once again see all the green vegetation. Something that I had missed in the two years I had been away. It was now the end of August, exactly two years since I had left. There was also good news – Italy had surrendered. I was also very happy now to send a phone message to my folks via their neighbours to let them know that I was back in the UK.
I travelled by train to RAF West Kirby on the Wirral to leave my tropical kit and get a three week leave pass. The next day I had arrived home to a very happy reunion with Mother and Dad. I spent the next three weeks meeting relatives and friends recounting my travels.
[page break]
After three weeks disembarkation leave, I was posted to Number 4 Radio School at Madley near Hereford. This was where I was to resume Air Crew training as a Wireless Operator, flying Dominis and Proctors.
[photograph]
The [bold] Percival Proctor [/bold] was a British radio trainer and communications aircraft of the Second World War.
The Proctor was a single-engined, low-wing monoplane with seating for three or four, depending on the model.
[photograph]
At the start of the Second World War, many (Dragon) Rapides were impressed by the British armed forces and served under the name [bold] de Havilland Dominie [/bold]. They were used for passenger and communications duties. Over 500 further examples were built specifically for military purposes, powered by improved Gipsey[sic] Queen Engines, to bring total production to 731. The Dominies were mainly used by the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy for radio and navigation training.
This was my first experience of flying and operating as a Wireless Operator and here we were flying most days for about one and a half hours carrying out various operation exercises on the radio.
RAF Madley was also a peacetime Station and the accommodation was quite good and included bunks for two members each in huts containing about sixteen personnel. Whilst I was here, I was with a number of the men that I had served with in Iraq so I was quite happy with the friends that I already knew. We used to go into the local village in the evenings, frequenting the local hostelries where I had an enjoyable time making up the[sic] for the two years I had spent overseas!
The course finished at the end of December 1943 and this is when I passed out and was promoted to Sergeant. At the same time I was also presented with my previ, the letter ‘S’ for Signals in the centre.
Previously Wireless Operators had been Air Gunners as well but that had by then been discontinued and a Wireless Operator was purely a Wireless Operator and not required to do a Gunnery course. Having qualified, I was kept on for a few more weeks assisting with the training of other personnel.
At the end of April 1944 I was posted along with some of the other Wireless operators to No 9 Advanced Flying Unit at Llandwrog in North Wales which is close to the town of Pwihelli and also close to Caenarfon. The drome here was along the coastline and planes taking off the runway immediately across the Irish sea.
[page break]
At Llandwrog we were training in Anson aircraft doing cross country exercises, out across the Irish Sea to the Isle of Man, back to the Lancashire coast and returning to base in Wales. This was during the month of May 1944 and continued into June until the course was completed on 12th June 1944. By this time, I’d had 43 hours of lectures and about 37 hours of flying time. This had been quite good experience as we had been night flying on a number of occasions and experienced flying in terrific thunderstorms. The whole aircraft having been completely encircled in a blue light including the wings! This was quite an unnerving experience.
[photograph]
On two occasions whilst stationed at Llandwrog, two of the training aircraft taking off failed to raise into the air and ditched in the sea. Each about 200 -300 metres from the shore. Fortunately the crews survived.
During my time there I was kept pretty busy however I did get into the local pub occasionally. There was a bit of a problem in that the pubs closed at 9 o’clock in the evening so you were never late getting back to camp. I was aware that there were certain local farms where airmen could go and have a bacon and egg meal and other enjoyable food but I never managed that.
Having completed the advanced w/t course, I was then posted to No. 17 Operational Training Unit at Turweston, Northamptonshire which was also part of RAF Silverstone. Turweston was the satellite drone where I spent my first period operating.
It was here at Turweston where we were all selected into different crews which was quite a hit and miss affair. This was because the Pilots were selecting more or less randomly the members of their crew from those present in the room.
I was picked by an Australian Pilot, Flight Sergeant Rob Richter. In addition to myself we had a Navigator (Alan Capey) from Stoke on Trent, a Bomb Aimer (Taffy Cross) from Llanelli, an Flight Engineer (Ossy Williams) from New Malden, a Mid Upper Gunner (Price Proctor) from Hartlepool and a Tail Gunner (Paddy McCrum) from Belfast.
It seemed strange putting together a crew in such an informal manner but thank goodness it all worked out reasonably well and we all sort of bedded down together in pretty good form. We then started operating together and flew in Vickers Wellington Mk III’s and I was now flying as a Wireless Operator no longer under training.
[page break]
[photograph]
We were accommodated in nissan huts amongst a lot of trees and I was working together with a team for the first time. As we got on so well together we were socialising each evening, visiting the local hostelries in Silverstone and Brackley. The weather at this time was perfect and I was enjoying the experience of flying with a crew in the Wellington aircraft.
The flying exercises we were doing began with circuits and landings. We then developed this on to cross country and high level bombing exercises at Wainfleet in Lincs. and also Epperstone in Notts. This included air firing for the benefit of the gunners.
At the end of July our crew were moved into the RAF base at Silverstone with more permanent accommodation than we had previously had at Turweston. It was all most comfortable and I was quite content here. We were now mainly doing cross country flights on a regular basis with these being between three and five hours in length.
In the middle of August we were sent on a semi operational patrol known as a “Nickel Raid”’ dropping foil paper to interfere with radio in enemy territory. This was a flight to Nantes in France where we unloaded the foil. This was a five hour trip. Two days later we were sent on a “Bullseye” which was a diversionary raid for the benefit of the main force. This was a trip to the coast of Holland to the town of Imjuiden.
During the time at Turweston and Silverstone we had experience of 57 hours of daytime flying and 57 hours of night flying. As part of the training we carried out bale out drill, ditching, dinghy and oxygen drills as well as procedures when lost at night. It was the Wireless Operators job to carry the radio transmitter into the dinghy which would be used to transmit any distress signals. I’m pleased to say that this situation never arose.
On 24th August 1944 we were sent on two weeks leave after which we were then posted to the Heavy Conversion Unit no. 1661 at RAF Winthorpe near Newark. The planes we used here were Mk III and V Stirlings. We carried out more cross country exercises however we were only here for one month. Our Pilot always likened the Stirling to the equivalent of flying a Double Decker Bus because the undercarriage was so high.
[page break]
[black and white photograph of a Short Stirling]
Short Stirling
On the 18th October 1944 we were posted to No. 5 Lancaster finishing school at Syerston, between Newark and Nottingham. This was our first experience of flying Lancasters. We were only here until the 8th November when we were all posted to various squadrons.
[Crest of Royal Air Force Syerston]
I and my fellow crew were posted to the RAF staion [sic] at Fulbeck which was purely a wartime air station and here we joined No. 189 squadron which is a Base that we shared with No. 59 Squadron.
I arrived at RAF Fulbeck on the 9th November 1944. The Station was situated between RAF Cranwell and the villages of Leadenham and Brant Broughton all with good pubs which we visited regularly when off duty. My home in Quadring was only 25 miles away and as I had my bicycle I went home for the evening several times. I left camp at 4pm and by 6pm I was home. At midnight I would return to camp, arriving two hours later. It was a lonely ride but I usually had a pint bottle of beer in my saddle bag for refreshment on the journey!
The daily routine in camp commenced about 9am when all crew members reported to their Sections. We were then given the days programme after which it was necessary to check your own particular equipment. At midday we all returned to either the officers or Sergeants mess for lunch. The only flying our crew did in November was a cross country and two high level bombing exercises at Wainfleet and Epperstone.
Naturally we were waiting to be called for our first operation and during the month we had the experience of being fully briefed for three trips, all being cancelled before take off which was a bit nerve wrecking.
However on the 4th December 1944 when we reported to our Sections we were informed that we would be on ‘Ops’ that night. After lunch the procedure was for all crews to attend the full Squadron briefing between 4pm and 5pm when we were told the target location and purpose of the raid.
Depending on the nature of the target, the maximum bomb load was 16,000 lbs and 2,200 gallons of fuel. With a full load of bombs/fuel, the total weight of the plane on take off was 30 tons. The flight plan gave the level at which we would be bombing and could be 8000 to 16000 feet. The more trips you did, then lower was the level at which you bombed.
[page break]
There were usually several Squadrons - about 200 aircraft on night trips. There was a rendezvous point, either Northampton or Beachy Head, for us to group together. As the whole force would be over the target for thirty minutes, each crew was given a bombing time - H plus 10 or H plus 20 etc.
It was an amazing experience in total darkness with no lights on the planes and a complete blackout of all towns and villages below. Our average take off time was 7 to 8pm. As we were not permitted to return to the mess or accommodation after lunch, we had sandwiches and flasks of tea with us.
Upon returning to base, often in the early hours of the morning we were first debriefed on the raid. After that we had a very welcome meal of bacon and eggs etc, before going off to bed.
Our first trip was to HEILBRON near STUTTGART in the RUHR to bomb the railway marshalling yards. Taking off for your first raid was a rather eerie feeling, not knowing what it would be like or if you would be coming back. However, once airborne your thoughts fall to getting the job done. After three hours we were over the target area giving us a very bumpy ride. Thankfully we were not hit and having dropped our 4000 lb bomb and a load of incendiaries, the yards were glowing with the fires raging. We returned to base safely and satisfied with our first operation.
Our next ‘Op’ was GIESSEN near FRANKFURT on 6th December where the target was once again marshalling yards.
On the 19th December we went on a long ten hour journey to GDYNIA. All went fairly well until we arrived over the target which was the docks. We should have done a ‘dog leg’ around the target (which we somehow missed!) to enable us to bomb on a northerly heading, coming out of the run over the Baltic Sea. As a consequence we were coned by searchlights and received heavy targeted gunfire from the German Navy below. Fortunately they missed us and we eventually had a successful raid. To avoid the enemy night fighters our Pilot took us down and we flew as low as possible over the Baltic and North Sea, not seeing any other activity although there had been some 200 enemy night fighters in amongst the main stream of bombers on the way home.
Two nights later we were sent to POLITZ, not far from GDYNIA which was another ten hour trip. On this occasion we were in heavy gunfire and heavy anti aircraft fire and for the first time we witnessed ‘Scarecrow’ being used by the enemy in order to create panic. Once again we were successful and set out to return home. On the journey back we were informed by radio that Lincolnshire was completely fog bound and we were diverted to RAF Milltown near Elgin. We remained there, as from 21st to 28th December 1944, Lincolnshire continued to be fog bound.
Far Right: ‘Scarecrow’
[black and white photograph of a ‘Scarecrow’ exploding]
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL SUK12055
[page break]
On the 30th December, we were sent to Houffalize, Belgium which was a town in the middle of the Western Front, south of Liege in the Ardennes. Here we were supposed to bomb the front line which was a rather delicate operation. Although it was a relatively short trip of five hours, we needed a lot of care as to where we were bombing. We learned later that a number of the Polish army had been caught by the bombs on that occasion.
On New years Day 1945 we were sent to bomb Gravenhorst for the numerous oil targets that were situated there. Unfortunately we could not return to base and once again returned to Milltown in Scotland where we stayed for a couple of days.
On 4th January, I flew with another crew piloted by Flying Officer Martin due to the sickness of their Wireless Operator. On this occasion we went to Royan, a town in the south West of France near to Bordeaux principally to attack the Submarines of the German Navy which were on the river there. This was a seven hour journey to the mouth of the Gironde which was quite uneventful.
On the 13th January we were sent to the town of Politz again which was a ten and a half hour trip. We were successful mainly targeting oil and marshalling yards alongside the Navy. Because of the length of the trip, on the return journey the flight engineer indicated that our fuel was not sufficient to get back to base. I made contact with base to establish where we should land given our circumstances and we were directed to make for Carnaby which was the emergency landing strip near to Flamborough Head in Yorkshire. We were fortunate to land there safely as there was virtually no fuel leaf onboard.
On the 16th January I was back with my own crew and flew with them to the town of Brux. This was an oil target with a round trip time of nine and a half hours. This was over towards the Polish area.
On the 1st and 2nd February we attacked the towns of Siegen and Karlsruhe. Both these trips were bright moonlit nights which made it much easier for the German night fighters to attack us when we were silhouetted against the moon. We did experience interference from night fighters and as always the anti aircraft fire was very intense. On the Karlsruhe trip, out of our 18 aircraft we lost 4 that night.
On the 7th February we went to Ladbergen in order to attack the Dortmund-Ems canal. On this occasion we only carried 1000lb bombs with no incendiaries in the hope that we inflicted as much damage as possible to the canal.
On the 13th February we had a very long trip to Dresden. This we were told was because the Russians had driven the German Army back and it was encamped in Dresden. This was termed as a “Russian Army co-operation raid”. The American Airforce had been operational during the day and had bombed the target so by the time we were arriving around midnight, the town was ablaze.
We were successful over the target but did encounter a lot of the usual anti aircraft and fighter aircraft. On the way back to base over the Alps we were icing up and had to go down as low as possible which was a tricky operation being amongst the mountains. However we were once again able to make it back to base.
[page break]
Of course after this raid there has been much publicity about it and as the years have passed, the extent of the damage became more apparent and the subject tended to not be mentioned. However being aware of the reasons for the raid, it seemed to me to be a very satisfactory legitimate target and one that was done with extreme efficiency.
The very next night on 14th February, we attacked an oil target at Rositz which is near Leipzig. This was another nine hour journey there and back. A few nights later on 19th February we were again in the vicinity of Leipzig over the town of Bohlen and once again it was an oil target. On all these Oil targets we carried a 1000lb’er and a load of incendiaries.
On 20th February we went all the way to Gravenhorst but unfortunately the sortie was aborted and we were unable to return to base because of adverse weather conditions and we were diverted to Colerne. On 23rd February we were given a very different target in Horten which were the docks in the Oslo fjord in Norway which had a German Naval base there. This was a comparatively short trip it being only six and half hours and we experienced a lot of intense anti-aircraft fire from the German Naval gunners.
On 12th March, we carried out our first raid in daylight and joined a one thousand bomber force. The target that day was the town of Dortmund. This was quite a new experience and rather frightening being amongst so many other bombers, all at the same time and all approaching the same area. However, the raid was successful and we returned without incident in what was a five hour trip.
The next trip was to Lutzkendorf, an oil target which was quite a long journey and well into Eastern Germany. This was on 14th March and although the raid was a success, we did lose several aircraft. Once again the weather conditions in Lincolnshire prevented us from returning to base and we were diverted to Manston in Kent where there was an emergency landing strip.
Two days later on 16th March we had another oil target to attack in the town of Wurzburg. Here we experienced a lot of fighter activity and heavy anti-aircraft. We were very lucky to get back!
On 20th March we returned to raid Bohlen near Leipzig and this was another eight hour trip. On 23rd March we were sent to the town of Wesel to attack the marshalling yards there. This was a mere five and half hour trip which we carried out without incident.
On 4th April we were sent on a daylight raid to Nordhausen and this was to attack oil targets and the marshalling yards. On 23rd April we were again raiding in daylight, this time to Flensburg on the Kiel canal. This was to attack the submarine pens there however the sortie was aborted and we returned home without encountering any problems.
Three days later we were sent to Brussels to repatriate a group of ex prisoners of war. We managed to pack in twenty four in the fuselage of the aircraft and we flew to Westcott in Buckinghamshire. This made a very pleasant change and the former POW’s were naturally in good spirits.
As the war was nearing its conclusion, we found ourselves doing more training exercises for a day or two and on 6th may[sic] we were back in Brussels collecting more former POW’s and this time we brought them home to Dunsfold in Surrey.
[page break]
We repeated this some six days later on 12th May. On each occasion there were twenty six former POW’s in our fuselage. On 15th April we flew to Lille to repatriate more POW’s.
On 16th April 1945 we were sent on a grand tour of Germany to see what damage had been done. This covered the towns and cities of Bremen, Hamburg, Harburg in Bavaria, Brunswick, Cassel, Wurzburg, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Cologne, Osnabruck and back to base. The whole trip took some eight and a half hours. This was a very interesting and exciting flight to see just what effect the bombing had on Germany.
On 1st April 1945, the Squadron had been transferred to Bardney which is nine miles east of Lincoln. This is the RAF station from where we operated the two daylight raids and the trips to collect the former POW’s. Also on this Station was No. 9 Squadron. They specialised in carrying very large bombs which they used to bomb the hiding place of Hitler in the Mountains.
On most of the raids I was on, the anti-aircraft fire was quite intense in most places and the night fighters were usually very busy. The one frightening aspect that the defenders of certain targets used was to send up “scarecrows” this giving the impression of one of our bombers exploding and crashing in flames. How this was achieved, I am unsure but it was extremely frightening.
Our crew had the unfortunate luck of having to be changed after the third trip as our Rear Gunner had been caught sleeping twice whilst we were still over enemy territory. On the first occasion when the Skipper called to him there was no reply and I was asked to go and find out what the problem was. I found that both the turret doors were open and he was lying back on the shute into the turret with his intercom lead pulled out of the socket. I informed the Skipper that he had not replied because his intercom was out. However on the very next trip the same situation occurred again whilst we were still well over Germany. On that occasion I did report to the Skipper that he was in fact asleep. After that he was removed from the Crew and we had to have substitutes for the remainder of our trips.
After the raid on Karlsruhe we had lost four aircraft which I have already referred to but in fact on several trips one or two failed to return however I have no record of the numbers lost in my period of Operations.
In the May of 1945, the Crews were being dispersed as our tours had finished with the war coming to an end on 8th May 1945. A number of us volunteered to assist with hay making and I spent about two weeks on a farm near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire after which we were all sent on leave for a few weeks.
As we completed the tour, we were then given a rest period and at that point we expected to be going on operations in the Far East at the later stage however the war ended there on 15th August.
As I was home on leave, I received a posting to RAF Woodbridge which was an emergency landing strip in Suffolk. There I was more or less just operating in the Flight Control Tower and also assisting in the Officers and Sergeants Mess’s with their accounting systems. I had plenty of spare time and the town of Ipswich was close by. This is where [I] and my friends were going most nights.
[page break]
One of my close friends at Woodbridge was Warrant Officer Bill Patterson, a pilot who had a lady friend called Rena in Ipswich. I was told that Rena had a lady friend who said that she would like to meet me. A date was duly arranged for the 4th November 1945 for me to meet this lady on the steps of the Post Office in Ipswich at 6 o’clock. The person that turned up was a young lady called Avis Fleet.
That evening we went with Bill and Rena as a foursome for a drink in Ipswich and we had a very pleasant time. Consequently I continued to meet Avis on a regular basis and was taken to her home on Norwich Road where I met her parents and young brother Geoffrey who was only eleven at the time. We met very regularly most days as I didn’t have much to do at Woodbridge and our friendship grew until by the end of December we had agreed to get married in 1946.
Avis and I went to my parents home in Quadring on Boxing Day and spent a few days there before returning to Ipswich. At the end of December, I was promoted to Warrant Officer which made my weekly pay Six Pounds and Eleven Shillings which at the time was pretty good money.
I continued to meet Avis regularly whilst the release groups from the RAF were in number order and I was number thirty five. With the assistance of my friend Bill Patterson who was then in the Release Centre, I went for demobilisation on 3rd April 1946. I collected my civilian outfit and returned to Ipswich to meet Avis again. Of course being released at that time meant that I had a quantity of clothing coupons which helped Avis considerably in getting her wedding outfit etc.
The wedding was arranged for the 4th May 1946 and this took place at All Saints Church Ipswich. I continued to receive pay from the RAF until the end of Mat[sic] 1946 by which time I had resumed my work as an accountant with Hodgson Harris in Spalding.
[wedding photograph]
After living with my parents for 4 or 5 weeks, I managed to obtain a furnished flat in Spalding at 13 High Street which was along by the riverside.
[page break]
In 1950 when war broke out in Korea I decided to join the RAF Reserve and this meant going to No. 9 Reserve Flying School at Doncaster. I would attend there at weekends, taking part in various flying exercises. In August 1951 as part of Reserve Training, I did two weeks camp at Topcliffe in North Yorkshire and flew in Ansons on cross country exercise which also included a trip to Malta.
The last trip I did was in an Anson in a North Sea search for the Spurn Lightship. This was on 1st February 1953. After this I was retired from the Reserve as I was over the age of twenty nine.
Whilst on Operations we had nine days leave every six weeks and all received Ten Pounds per week from Lord Nuffield (The boss of Ford Motor Co). In appreciation of our services.
Returning from leave sometimes could be worrying. In our huts there would be members from 4 or 5 different Crews and returning home some would be missing from raids. On one occasion there were members of 7 Crews in our hut and on our return from one sortie, 5 were missing. This was a huge shock!
I thoroughly enjoyed all of my time with the RAF and would say that it was as good as going to a University. I realise that I am very fortunate to be still alive at the age of 92. I now have the medals of my service history including the Bomber Command Clasp for the 1939-1945 Star.
I hope my story will be of interest to whoever may read it.
[two pages from 189 Squadron Fulbeck logbook]
[page break]
[photograph of Andrew Gaunt as sub-postmaster at Pinchbeck]
Jacks[sic] WW11 story and experiences have been brought together by Andrew Gaunt former Sub Postmaster of Pinchbeck (2000 to 2014), from recordings made by Jack of his time with the RAF and his personal recollections of events and flying missions that he was sent on. Utilising Jacks[sic] log book and researching events that he has referred to.
It seemed appropriate that I brought Jacks[sic] recollections together having myself been a fellow Wireless Operator. Being a Marine Radio Officer from 1975 to 1986 and visiting many of the ports of the Middle East that Jack transited on his journey. Ironically Merchant ships no longer have a requirement to carry an R/O. This position disappeared in the 1990’s whilst the requirement to carry a W/O on aircraft was I believe removed sometime in the 1960’s. My own experiences took me frequently into areas of conflict notably the Persian/Arabian Gulf, regularly through the then dangerous Straits of Hormuz during the Iran/Iraq war and I also have my own vivid recollections of the Iranian Revolution.
Acknowledgements are made to the following sources whose photos have been used although there appear to be many copies of the same photos on different sites.
Polish Aircrew at RAF Bramcote – polishsquadronsremembered.com
Troopship SS Otranto – britisharmedforces.org
HMS Repulse – historyofwar.org
HMS Prince of Wales – dailymail.co.uk
Troopship SS Khedive Ismail – cruiselinehistory.com
Blenheim Aircraft – spitfirespares.co.uk
WW11 map of Iraq – en.wikipedia.org
Percival Proctor Aircraft – en.wikipedia.org
De Havilland Dominie Aircraft – rafyatesbury.webs.com
Avro Anson Aircraft – uboat.net
Vickers Wellington Aircraft – aviationresearch.co.uk
Short Stirling Aircraft – aoth.17.dsl.pipex.com
“Scarecrow” phenomena – awrm.gov.au
Whilst the tragic fate of Repulse and Prince of Wales is a well known WW11 event, a lesser known event but equally tragic story lies in the fate of the SS Khedive Ismail which took Jack into the Persian Gulf in late 1941.
The SS Khedive Ismail was sunk by a Japanese submarine on 12th February 1944 with the loss of 1,297 lives. The vessel Sank in just two minutes. For more information on this terrible event visit www.roll-of-honour.com/Ships/SSKhediveIsmail.htm The story is also covered in The book “Passage To Destiny” by Paul Watkins.
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Sparks in the air - Jack Smith's wartime story
Description
An account of the resource
Covers life before the war and volunteering for the RAF in August 1940. Continues with account of training as a wireless operator. Includes radio school crest and photograph of a Battle aircraft. Describes voyage from Liverpool via Cape Town then escorted by HMS Repulse and Prince of Wales to Bombay (Mumbai) and then onward to Basrah in Iraq. Eventually arrived at RAF Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and describes life and work on this station. Describes medical issues and subsequent posting to RAF Habbaniya in Iraq. Goes on to describe journey back to England overland via Gaza, Cairo and Alexandria thence by ship. Continues aircrew training at RAF Madley and Llandwrog in Wales. Includes photographs of Proctor, Dominie and Anson. Describes crewing up and starting operations on Wellington aircraft. He continues with postings to heavy conversion units and Lancaster finishing school before joining 189 Squadron at RAF Fulbeck. Describes in detail operations from December 1944 to April 1945. Mentions repatriating prisoners of war and Cook's tour to see damage to German cities. Describes life after the war including his marriage. Includes photographs of Wellington. Stirling, night bombing, wedding and page from log book..
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
A Gaunt
J Smith
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Twenty page printed book with b/w photographs
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BSmithJSmithJv1-2
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Lincolnshire
England--Spalding
England--Cheshire
England--Lancashire
England--Blackpool
England--Wiltshire
England--Liverpool
South Africa
South Africa--Cape Town
South Africa--Durban
India
India--Mumbai
Iraq
Iraq--Baṣrah
United Arab Emirates
Iraq--Ḥabbānīyah
Gaza Strip--Gaza
Egypt--Cairo
Egypt--Alexandria
England--Herefordshire
England--Northamptonshire
Wales--Gwynedd
England--Nottinghamshire
Germany
Germany--Heilbronn
Germany--Giessen (Hesse)
Poland
Poland--Gdynia
Belgium
Belgium--Houffalize
Germany--Wolfsburg (Lower Saxony)
France
France--Royan
Czech Republic
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Dortmund
Atlantic Ocean--Oslofjorden
Germany--Würzburg
Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Germany--Nordhausen (Thuringia)
Belgium--Brussels
Germany--Flensburg
Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)
Scotland--Moray
Egypt
Gaza Strip
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Czech Republic--Most
United Arab Emirates--Shāriqah (Emirate)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1937
1940-09
1940-11-04
1941-03
1941-08-31
1943-02
1943-12
1944-04
1944-06-12
1944-08-24
1944-11-09
1944-12-04
1944-12-06
1944-12-19
1944-12
1944-12-30
1945-01-01
1945-01-04
1945-01-16
1945-01-13
1945-02-01
1945-02-02
1945-02-07
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-20
1945-02-23
1945-03-14
1945-03-16
1945-03-20
1945-03-23
1945-04-03
1945-04-23
1945-05-06
1945-05
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Bloomfield
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
1661 HCU
17 OTU
189 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
Battle
Blenheim
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Cook’s tour
crewing up
Dominie
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
military living conditions
Morse-keyed wireless telegraphy
Operation Exodus (1945)
Operational Training Unit
Proctor
RAF Bramcote
RAF Compton Bassett
RAF Fulbeck
RAF Llandwrog
RAF Madley
RAF Milltown
RAF Padgate
RAF Silverstone
RAF Syerston
RAF Turweston
RAF Winthorpe
RAF Woodbridge
recruitment
Scarecrow
Stirling
training
Wellington
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/641/32465/BSmithJSmithJv1.1.pdf
06d252abf25757870b967f73da7e1fc8
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Smith, Jack
John George Smith
J G Smith
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Smith, JG
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. An oral history interview with John 'Jack' Smith (1921 -2019) and his memoirs. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 189 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by John Smith and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Sparks in the air - Jack Smith's wartime story
Description
An account of the resource
Second version. Covers life before the war and volunteering for the RAF in August 1940. Continues with account of training as a wireless operator. Includes radio school crest and photograph of a Battle aircraft. Describes voyage from Liverpool via Cape Town then escorted by HMS Repulse and Prince of Wales to Bombay (Mumbai) and then onward to Basrah in Iraq. Eventually arrived at RAF Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and describes life and work on this station. Describes medical issues and subsequent posting to RAF Habbaniya in Iraq. Goes on to describe journey back to England overland via Gaza, Cairo and Alexandria thence by ship. Continues aircrew training at RAF Madley and Llandwrog in Wales. Includes photographs of Proctor, Dominie and Anson. Describes crewing up and starting operations on Wellington aircraft. He continues with postings to heavy conversion units and Lancaster finishing school before joining 189 Squadron at RAF Fulbeck. Describes in detail operations from December 1944 to April 1945. Mentions repatriating prisoners of war and Cook's tour to see damage to German cities. Describes life after the war including his marriage. Includes photographs of Wellington. Stirling, night bombing, wedding and page from log book.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
A Gaunt
J Smith
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Twenty-eight page printed document
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BSmithJSmithJv1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Lincolnshire
England--Spalding
England--Cheshire
England--Lancashire
England--Blackpool
England--Wiltshire
England--Liverpool
South Africa
South Africa--Cape Town
South Africa--Durban
India
India--Mumbai
Iraq
Iraq--Baṣrah
United Arab Emirates
Iraq--Ḥabbānīyah
Gaza Strip--Gaza
Egypt--Cairo
Egypt--Alexandria
England--Herefordshire
England--Northamptonshire
Wales--Gwynedd
England--Nottinghamshire
Germany
Germany--Heilbronn
Germany--Giessen (Hesse)
Poland
Poland--Gdynia
Belgium
Belgium--Houffalize
Germany--Wolfsburg (Lower Saxony)
France
France--Royan
Czech Republic
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Dortmund
Atlantic Ocean--Oslofjorden
Germany--Würzburg
Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Germany--Nordhausen (Thuringia)
Belgium--Brussels
Germany--Flensburg
Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)
Scotland--Moray
Egypt
Gaza Strip
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Czech Republic--Most
United Arab Emirates--Shāriqah (Emirate)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1937
1940-09
1940-11-04
1941-03
1941-08-31
1943-02
1944-04
1944-06-12
1944-08-24
1944-11-09
1944-12-04
1944-12-06
1944-12-19
1944-12
1944-12-30
1945-01-01
1945-01-04
1945-01-16
1945-01-13
1945-02-01
1945-02-02
1945-02-07
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-20
1945-02-23
1945-03-14
1945-03-16
1945-03-20
1945-03-23
1945-04-03
1945-04-23
1945-05-06
1945-05
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
1661 HCU
17 OTU
189 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
Battle
Blenheim
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Cook’s tour
crewing up
Dominie
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
love and romance
military living conditions
Morse-keyed wireless telegraphy
Operation Exodus (1945)
Operational Training Unit
Proctor
RAF Bramcote
RAF Compton Bassett
RAF Fulbeck
RAF Llandwrog
RAF Madley
RAF Milltown
RAF Padgate
RAF Silverstone
RAF Syerston
RAF Turweston
RAF Winthorpe
RAF Woodbridge
recruitment
Stirling
training
Wellington
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1389/31249/LDixonW2206823v1.2.pdf
708eeff6860c5633fc1d6aab98548bb0
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Connock, Mike
Michael Connock
M Connock
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-02-24
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Connock, M
Description
An account of the resource
Eight items. The collection concerns (Royal Air Force) and contains people who served with 50 and 61 Squadrons at RAF Skellingthorpe.
They include:
W Dixon
GR Williamson
BV Robinson
GA Walker
L Barber
HJ Whitwell
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Mike Connock and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Sergeant W. Dixon’s RAF Navigator’s, Air Bomber’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book
Description
An account of the resource
Sergeant W. Dixon’s RAF Navigator’s, Air Bomber’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book, from 23rd September 1943 to 4th April 1945, detailing his training and operations as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner. He was stationed at RAF Yatesbury (No. 2 Radio School), RAF Evanton (8 Air Gunnery School), RAF Bishopscourt (7(O) AFU), RAF Turweston, RAF Silverstone, (17 OTU), RAF Wigsley (1654 HCU), RAF Syerston (5 LFS) and RAF Skellingthorpe (61 Squadron). Aircraft in which flown: Dominie, Proctor, Anson, Wellington, Stirling and Lancaster.
He flew a total of 32 operations (6 day, 26 night). Targets in Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Poland were: Bohlen, Bremen, Brunswick, Dortmund, Dresden, Duren, Dusseldorf, Flushing, Gdynia, Gravenhorst, Houffalize, Ladbergen, Lutzkendorf, Merseburg, Molbis, Munich, Nordhausen, Nurnberg, Politz, Rheydt, Rositz, Siegen, Trondheim and Wurzburg. His pilots on operations were Flight Lieutenant Burns, Flying Officer MacFarlane and Flying Officer Lambert. Includes numerous comments on operations, including “COULDN’T CLIMB OVER ALPS OPENED BOMB DOORS & TOBBOGANED (sic) OVER” and “ATTACKED BY 5 JU88’S 2 SHOT DOWN”.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LDixonW2206823v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
Belgium--Houffalize
England--Buckinghamshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Northamptonshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Wiltshire
Germany--Altenburg (Landkreis)
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Düren (Cologne)
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Merseburg
Germany--Mittelland Canal
Germany--Munich
Germany--Nordhausen (Thuringia)
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Rheydt
Germany--Saxony
Germany--Saxony-Anhalt
Germany--Siegen
Germany--Steinfurt (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Germany--Würzburg
Netherlands--Vlissingen
Northern Ireland--Down (County)
Norway--Trondheim
Poland--Gdynia
Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)
Scotland--Ross and Cromarty
Great Britain
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1945
1944-10-06
1944-10-07
1944-10-11
1944-10-14
1944-10-15
1944-10-19
1944-10-20
1944-11-02
1944-11-03
1944-11-04
1944-11-05
1944-11-06
1944-11-07
1944-11-16
1944-11-21
1944-11-22
1944-11-23
1944-11-24
1944-12-17
1944-12-18
1944-12-19
1944-12-27
1944-12-31
1945-01-01
1945-01-02
1945-01-07
1945-01-08
1945-01-13
1945-01-14
1945-01-15
1945-02-01
1945-02-02
1945-02-07
1945-02-08
1945-02-09
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-15
1945-02-19
1945-02-20
1945-02-21
1945-02-22
1945-03-06
1945-03-07
1945-03-12
1945-03-14
1945-03-15
1945-03-16
1945-03-17
1945-04-04
1945-04-07
1945-04-08
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
1654 HCU
17 OTU
61 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Dominie
Heavy Conversion Unit
Ju 88
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Operational Training Unit
Proctor
RAF Banff
RAF Bishops Court
RAF Carnaby
RAF Evanton
RAF Gransden Lodge
RAF Middleton St George
RAF Netheravon
RAF Silverstone
RAF Skellingthorpe
RAF Stradishall
RAF Syerston
RAF Turweston
RAF Wigsley
RAF Yatesbury
Stirling
training
Wellington
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1505/28859/SDaviesLA1581024v10008.2.pdf
ed8bf40534d07483bcb8ccc0be856f7f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Davies, Leslie and Jack
Leslie Alfred Davies
L A Davies
John Richard Davies
J R Davies
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-04-28
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Davies, LA-JR
Description
An account of the resource
49 items. Collection concerns Leslie Alfred Davies (1922-1996, 1581024 Royal Air Force) and his brother John Richard Davies ( - 1944, 1580941). Leslie served as a Lancaster navigator on of 50 Squadron completing his tour of 30 operations in March 1945. John served a Lancaster bomb aimer on 166 Squadron He was killed in action 3 August 1944. Collection consists of Leslie's crew's individual logbooks and biographies, operational histories, photographs of people, aircraft and a grave, documents and correspondence. <br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Murray Davies and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. <br /><br />Additional information on John Richard Davies is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/105795/">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Sergeant E Marrs air gunner/wireless operator's flying log book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SDaviesLA1581024v10008
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
Flying log book for E Marrs, wireless operator, covering the period from 12 September 1943 to 10 September 1946. Detailing his flying training, operations flown and post war flying with 10 Squadron. He was stationed at RAF Barrow, RAF Madley, RAF Mona, RAF Market Harborough, RAF Wigsley, RAF Syerston, RAF Skellingthorpe and RAF Broadwell and India. Aircraft flown in were Dominie, Proctor, Anson, Wellington, Stirling, Lancaster, Halifax, and Dakota. He flew a total of 30 operation with 50 Squadron, 5 daylight and 25 night. Targets were Bremen, Flushing, Nuremberg, Dusseldorf, Mitteland Canal, Harburg, Duren, Dortmund-Ems Canal, Munich, Heilbronn, Gdynia, Politz, Houffalize, Royan, Merseburg, Karlsruhe, Dresden, and Bohlen. His pilot on operations was Flight Lieutenant Jones. <br /><br />This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1945
1946
1944-10-07
1944-10-11
1944-10-19
1944-10-20
1944-11-02
1944-11-03
1944-11-06
1944-11-07
1944-11-11
1944-11-12
1944-11-16
1944-11-21
1944-11-22
1944-11-26
1944-11-27
1944-12-04
1944-12-05
1944-12-17
1944-12-18
1944-12-19
1944-12-21
1944-12-22
1944-12-30
1944-12-31
1945-01-01
1945-01-02
1945-01-04
1945-01-05
1945-01-07
1945-01-08
1945-01-13
1945-01-14
1945-01-15
1945-02-02
1945-02-03
1945-02-08
1945-02-09
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-19
1945-02-20
1945-02-21
1945-02-22
1945-02-24
1945-03-05
1945-03-06
1945-03-07
1945-03-08
1945-03-20
1945-03-21
1945-03-22
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Poland
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
Belgium--Houffalize
England--Cumbria
England--Herefordshire
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Oxfordshire
France--Royan
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Düren (Cologne)
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Harburg (Landkreis)
Germany--Heilbronn
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Leipzig Region
Germany--Merseburg
Germany--Mittelland Canal
Germany--Munich
Germany--Nuremberg
Netherlands--Vlissingen
Poland--Gdynia
Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)
Wales--Anglesey
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
10 Squadron
14 OTU
1654 HCU
4 Group
5 Group
50 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
C-47
Dominie
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 3
Operational Training Unit
Proctor
RAF Barrow in Furness
RAF Madley
RAF Market Harborough
RAF Mona
RAF Skellingthorpe
RAF Syerston
RAF Wigsley
Stirling
training
Wellington
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1943/35487/AGuyanS[Date]-01.mp3
18ed3eafa76cc4c5d5761d681cfe81ac
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Guyan, Samuel
S Guyan
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-09-23
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Guyan, S
Description
An account of the resource
40 items. The collection concerns Warrant Officer Samuel Guyan DFC (Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, audio memoir and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 90 and 115 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Andrew Guyan and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Jock here. After listening to George reading about our ops from the official records I realised how bare they were so I thought I’d say a few words about our ops as in the mid-upper turret I saw most of what went on. [radio recording begins] “While US bombers mass raided Germany by day, RAF Bomber Command pounded it by night.” “It was the point of entry in to Germany where the German fighters were under full control in their boxes and by their ground controllers and that’s where they had a sort of first exact knowledge of which way they were coming in and how many were coming.” [pause] “The Germans were waiting with their night fighters and anti-aircraft guns. Prepared for the allied planes coming and going [sounds of gunfire] The crews of Bomber Command flew in darkness to names on maps illuminated by the Pathfinders to drop their bombs. They flew through walls of flak waiting to be attacked by an enemy they could not see. Nowhere else over Europe were such desperate air battles fought [sounds of gunfire] Some would reach home again and some would not.” [radio recording stops] That was just the sound of the action to set the old adrenaline flowing. Butch Harris was one of the speakers there. I’ll start with that mining op at Bordeaux. Coming in from the sea we weren’t sure where we were so we came down low. Five hundred feet Bill said when we met. When we met at the reunion. We came down low to pinpoint some lakes. That was when the light flak guns opened fire at us. Bill lying in the bomb aimer‘s compartment shouted to Gordon and Gordon reacted immediately. ‘Dive to the starboard.’ Yes, Bill and Gordon, you saved our lives that night. I’ll never forget the tracer whizzing by my turret and bursting just above us. I made the joke at the time that I swallowed my chewing gum. I can’t remember whether I did or not. Probably just said it to hide my fear. As I said to Jack, I remembered looking at the side of the aircraft by my turret the next day up at the dispersal looking to see if there were any burn marks. It was that close. If we’d dived a second later I would have been split in two. You needn’t laugh about it Jack because your head would probably have been blown off as you were just up the gangway from me.
[recording paused]
I think that that flak battery probably shot down a few bombers who were doing the same as we were. That op, funnily enough was our first from Wratting Common and our next one was also a nasty one. Dusseldorf. This was the one where we were caught in the searchlights. Twenty four I have down in my logbook and for sixteen minutes. I remember Gordon saying that he was sorry he looped the loop that night. I wouldn’t be surprised Gordon. John and I in our turrets had three or four upside down views of the searchlights that night. By the way that was our first op in P-Peter. A few nights later we went to Krefeld in the Ruhr. I mention this op because this is the op that Peters went missing. He was a pilot I always remember. Tall, red headed. He was very commanding in his Aussie blue uniform. I suppose you knew him most of all, Gordon. I remember walking in to the debriefing room and a voice saying, ‘Peters is missing.’ I can still hear that voice. Later on walking up that narrow concrete path to our Nissen hut I thought somebody would be saying one morning that, ‘Appleby is missing.’
[recording paused]
Wuppertal was a good op. We hammered that one and we weren’t flying all that much above the smoke that night. I’ll talk now about the op when our lives depended on the whim of a Luftwaffe pilot. The pilot of that ME110 when he was faced with the choice of which Stirling he would shoot down. It certainly was a case of eeny meeny miney mo. I am not sure which op this was but I’ve an idea it was Cologne. It was one of the blackest nights ever. Suddenly the sky was lit up by this Stirling catching fire. It was less than two hundred yards in our port beam. The same height and no more than ten yards behind us. I saw this ME110 breaking away to port and then he was lost in the dark. This 110 must have opened fire at very short range and he was less than fifty yards from the Stirling when he broke away. As I said it was a very black night and I doubt that John and I could see more than forty or fifty yards. The pilot in the ME110 of course had us on his radar screen. He had two blips to pick from. Why didn’t he pick us? Was that ten yards that we were in front of the other vital? Or was it because the pilot of a plane was always sat on the port side and breaking away to the port was easiest. We’ll never know.
[recording paused]
I didn’t see anybody bale out of the Stirling which crashed behind a farmhouse. We lost two crews that night so there’s possible that that Stirling could have been from 90 Squadron. Same height, same course. I couldn’t pick up the marking because the flames spread all the way along the fuselage.
[recording paused]
Hamburg. Four ops in nine nights plus a Remscheid in between when we had to turn back because the starboard outer went u/s. The first op on Hamburg of course was when they first used Window. The sight over the target that night was unbelievable. Searchlights were flapping all over the place but also were just straight up in the air. They were completely confused. That was the night that we were diverted to Newmarket when we got back because a plane had blocked our runway. I remember we had to sleep in an empty hut that night. Even had to wait for a van to bring the bedding and make our own beds.
[recording paused]
Our second op on Hamburg of course was the big one. This they say was Bomber Command's most successful raid. Up to forty thousand people were killed that night. I’ll never forget the smoke which was rising away above us. A fourth Hamburg was another nasty one for us. Flying through thunderstorms all the way. The plane covered in a blue light. George said he remembered the ice crashing on to my turret. Most of the crews turned back that night. Why didn’t we? Now Len, never mind that joke you made at the reunion when you said that that sod wouldn’t come back with us meaning Gordon. Good laugh. I don’t know whether Jack picked anything up on the wireless about other crews turning back. He didn’t say anything. In fact, turning back was never mentioned by any one of us. We just pressed on.
[recording paused]
Turin. Crossing the Alps in moonlight. One of my finest memories. We were coned over there but that wasn’t too bad, was it? This was the op when after we just crossed the Alps John and I saw this Wimpy flying the other way. A few seconds later there was an almighty flash. Did he crash in the Alps or did he collide with another plane? We don’t know.
[recording paused]
Peenemunde. Another moonlight op. This was when that unidentified plane buzzed around us. Gordon had thought it was a 110. I thought it might have been a Beaufighter. As I remember it he came out of the moon and flashed across the front of us from starboard to port. He then flew around us and came up behind. I was just going to say to John, ‘Fire a short burst to let him know we’ve seen him,’ when Gordon asked what he was doing. And just then the aircraft turned away to port and we never saw him again. Mind you he wasn’t more than a thousand yards away. Very funny that was. I remember flying over Denmark and somebody flashing the V sign. Peenemunde. We just got clear in time didn’t we before the fighters came into the bomber stream? Remember all these fires in the sky behind us John? [recording paused]
Mannheim, when a piece of flak hit me on the head. I suppose breaking through the Perspex took some sting out of it. It left me with just the tiniest bump. My second op on Mannheim was our last op but we still had a rather shaky do to come, hadn’t we? [recording paused]
Farnborough. After a very enjoyable week there doing the experimental flights with that captured JU88 with the old Spitfire hanging around we took off from Farnborough to fly back to Wratting Common and minutes later bad weather set in. It was so bad that Gordon was really hedge hopping. We skimmed through a tree. John remembers his turret crashing through the branches. When George came to see me he said he remembers this as one of our bad ones. I must tell this story. He said he was sat down by his dials when he realised that the dialogue on the intercom was getting a bit frantic so he thought he’d go and have a look through the astrodome and he said, ‘There we were just flying over the traffic lights in Reading.’ We were alright though because I think the lights were on green at the time.
[recording paused]
Make no mistake it was a tremendous tour in Stirlings 1943. The Battle of the Ruhr, Hamburg, Peenemunde. When people talk about Bomber Command these are the ops they talk about. You have no doubt read that book by Len Deighton called, “Bomber.” He said that one of the reasons he wrote it was because one of his boyhood friends was a flight engineer on Lancs and he told him that during the briefing the Lanc crews had cheered when they heard that the more vulnerable Stirlings would be flying below them. I’d like to mention that I went to a do at the RAF Officer’s Club in Piccadilly in 1975. The Air Gunner’s Association thirtieth anniversary of VE Day dinner. I managed to get a couple of words with Butch Harris of all people and I was saying that I had done two tours. One in Stirlings and one on Lancs. He lifted his eyebrows and said, ‘Stirlings eh? Well done.’ I can understand that more now after reading the book by Max Hastings called, “Bomber Command,” when he quotes Harris saying to Churchill, ‘I want more Lancasters because it is cold blooded murder to send my crews on ops in Stirlings.’
[recording paused]
When I listened to George reading our briefing reports on the Ruhr and bombing from eleven thousand feet some of them that made me wonder. There was I on my second tour, in a Lanc bombing the same targets from twenty one thousand feet. According to George’s missing crew sheet twenty four crews went missing during our stay at 90 Squadron. John, that’s forty eight air gunners. Remember Nobby Clark? He went missing. You swapped his best blue and I swapped a couple of shirts and socks et cetera. It was all part of the game. We told him we’d see him off, didn’t we? He would have done the same to us if we’d got the chop.
[recording paused]
We were talking about lucky mascots at the reunion. [Jack Sherry] made sure he took the same pen every time. Bruce said he had something and somebody mentioned that John took a silk hankie. And I had a scarf. I remember that. And I don’t laugh, this tune which I used to sing. I’m telling this to John really because I mentioned this at the reunion to the rest of you so bear with me. On our second op just as we were crossing the English coast Bill said, as he always did, ‘We’re crossing the English coast.’ I realised that when he said that the previous op I was quietly singing to myself the tune called, “Dearly Beloved,” which was one of the pop tunes at the time. So, I sang it again. Eventually when he said we were crossing the English coast I made sure my mike was switched off and I used to sing it [singing] “Dearly beloved, how clearly I see. Somewhere in heaven you were fashioned for me.” Yes, Jack, you were right it’s a good job my mike was switched off. You may all laugh but it was silly things like that that helped us to cling to survival. By the way I sang it all the way through my second tour as well. Another twenty eight times.
[recording paused]
Bob [Meadows] said that George was always checking and double checking things. This is what survival was all about. We all agree that Gordon did a super job but I would also like to say that we landed lucky in having George as our flight engineer. Thinking back now I realise that he was the best flight engineer in the squadron.
[recording paused]
It’s unbelievable that there wasn’t a Bomber Command campaign medal. I’m thinking of the ground crews as well who worked all hours to keep the aircraft serviceable and they got nothing to show for it. There was a Battle of Britain campaign medal. Bomber Command lost more aircrew in one week than was lost in the whole of the Battle of Britain. Looking through the Stirling bomber book I noticed that Stirling losses were around ten percent on some of their ops. Krefeld, a hundred and fifteen Stirlings — nine were lost. Mülheim, a hundred and three Stirlings — nine were lost. Wuppertal, ninety eight Stirlings — ten were lost. Gelsenkirchen, seventy Stirlings — ten were lost. Cologne, seventy five Stirlings — seven lost. Remscheid, seventy six — and eight were lost.
[recording paused]
I think that Geordie Young going missing on his thirtieth op probably saved our lives as well. If they’d asked us to go on to thirty ops I don’t think we would have made it. We were all feeling the strain by that time.
[recording paused]
[radio recording begins] “Sergeant Brian Bacon was one who did not. He was navigator on a Stirling bomber shot down on May the 13th 1943. His sister Beryl remembers her reactions when told her brother’s remains had finally been found by the Dutch Air Force.” “Oh it was stunned silence at first quite honestly but after that I was very relieved. I can’t say I was happy. That’s not the word I want but I was pleased that at last he had got a, a resting place. We knew where he was and we knew that he’d obviously died instantaneously and that he hadn’t suffered. He hadn’t been a prisoner. He hadn’t wandered the countryside even, you know.”
[radio recording paused]
That was Wesley Morey’s navigator they were talking about, Len. I suppose you knew him. They had dug the plane out of the Ijsselmeer three or four years ago. I believe the tail wheel and other parts of the Stirling are in the basement of the RAF Museum at Hendon.
[recording paused]
[radio recording begins] “Missing. That’s a very big horrible word. It’s, from the point of view of your family it’s worse than being dead I would say.” “You never hardly ever saw anybody die, unless somebody in your own crew was killed. It was just a face there in the morning eating breakfast with you and in the evening he’s not there. And of course, Bomber Command were so efficient that if you lost three or four crews off your squadron you got back at 6 o’clock in the morning, you went to bed. When you got up at lunchtime and went in the mess their replacements were there.”
[recording paused]
“On British airfields they counted the bombers as they returned. Some unscathed, others with wings or tails shot away and inside many the dead, the wounded and the shocked. It was just another day. Another mission.” “Any commander is distressed by losses but of course in any war losses were bound to happen and the heavier they are the more commanders concerned are distressed by them but there’s little that one can do about it.”
[radio recording stopped]
That was Butch Harris saying a few words again.
[recording paused]
We were never attacked by fighters so how John and I would have coped we don’t know. One thing is for sure we were prepared to die for you. As Bill was saying, in the end it was a team effort that counted.
[recording paused]
This is part of a letter which Butch Harris sent to a newspaper in 1949. “To the men and women of Bomber Command, my greetings to the ground staff who kept them flying regardless of the miseries of wet and winter, my salaams to the instructors who kept their necks stuck out, to lessen odds on other necks. But above all my admiration to those too few survivors of our devoted air crews. Happy landings even if the wheels are up. My respect and affection to you all. Butch Harris.”
[recording paused]
I’m quoting Butch Harris again from his book, “Bomber Offensive.” “There are no words with which I can do justice to the aircrew who fought under my command. There is no parallel in warfare to such courage and determination in the face of danger over so prolonged a period of danger which at times was so great that scarcely one man in three could expect to survive his tour of operations. It was moreover a clear and highly conscious courage by which the risk was taken with calm forethought. The aircrew were all highly skilled men, above the average in education who had to understand every aspect and detail of the task. It was furthermore the courage of the small hours of men virtually alone. For at his battle station the airman is virtually alone. It was the courage of men with long drawn apprehensions of nightly going over the top. They were without exception volunteers for no man who was trained for aircrew with the RAF who did not volunteer for this. Such devotion must never be forgotten. It is unforgettable by anyone whose contacts gave them knowledge and understanding of what these young men experienced and faced.”
[recording paused]
Flying over the Ruhr, Happy Valley we called it, one night and then going to the pictures the next night. Killing nearly forty thousand people over Hamburg one night and then having a quiet drink in the Red Lion at Brinkley the night after. Crazy, wasn’t it?
[recording paused]
Gordon, Len, George, Bill, Jack, John. Well done each of you. I’m proud to have been a member of such a fine crew. Thank you for those unforgettable memories of 1943, on 90 Squadron and good old P-Peter. 90 Squadron. Remember we flew on 90 Squadron when it was at its mightiest and its bloodiest. Is there anything stronger than love? No. I don’t think so. But next in line must be this bond. This wonderful comradeship of a bomber crew. People think we’re silly and knock us down a bit but they don’t understand. We do, don’t we?
[recording paused]
[singing] Ops in a Stirling. Ops in Stirling. Who’d come on ops in a Stirling with me? They laughed and they sang as they pranged all over Germany. Who’ll come on ops in a Stirling with me?
[recording paused]
When I finished my tour with 90 Squadron I was sent to Number 12 Operational Training Unit at Edgehill as an instructor gunner flying Wellingtons. The old Wimpy as we called it. I remember a pilot there called Flight Lieutenant Pettit. He was very short on patience. We set off with two or three gunners, fired our air to air firing which is firing at a drogue plus cine camera gun firing. Firing at a fighter who would do a few dummy attacks on us. His patience was very very short. Every trip the guns used to jam and I used to go in the turret and put them right again and then the gunner would go back and finish his work. This used to happen two or three times a trip. One day Pettit said, ‘When the guns jam again, Jock,’ he said, ‘You stop in the turret, fix the guns and fire all the ammunition yourself,’ which was the cine gun camera ammunition. Of course, after a trip or two like this somebody told the gunnery leader and he had me in his office. As I went in I noticed that Flight Lieutenant Pettit was hanging about outside but he needn’t have bothered. I took the blame. I think that Pettit had a good word to say about all Scotsmen after that. Funny thing he went missing on D-Day on his second tour. They posted me to Dalcross near Inverness. Number 2 Air Gunnery School, Dalcross doing the same sort of thing. This time flying in Ansons. I always asked a new gunner if they wanted to sit by the pilot. Their faces beamed. But it wasn’t until we got airborne when they realised that whoever sat there beside the pilot had the job of winding the undercarriage up and down and it was hard work in the old Anson. They weren’t so keen then. Dalcross sometimes four or five, six trips a day flying up and down the Moray Firth with the Scottish Highlands in the background. It was a beautiful war then.
[recording paused]
I think that when the RAF found that you were happy on a station they had you posted. They sent me down to South Wales. Carew Cheriton in Aberporth, near Pembroke. Took me a day and a half to get there. This time I was flying in Martinets and Henleys as a winch operator. It made a change winching over the rocket and gun sight at Manorbier. I let a drogue out and they would fire at it with the flak guns. Or else we would just go up and fly up and down and they’d check the radar. They always said if they hit us with any flak they’d give us a bottle of whisky but I wasn’t that lucky. Or was I?
[recording paused]
The 9th of June 1944. A day I’ll never forget. I was flying with a Polish pilot, Pilot Officer [ Zadonka ] All the pilots seemed to be Polish on Training Units. We were on a silent op in a Martinet flying over the sea. I was taking my flying very casually then sitting at the back of the pilot, reading a book as a matter of fact when the engine cut. I looked forward in to the pilot’s cockpit. He didn’t seem too concerned. Then he started fiddling about and when he put his hands in the air I knew we were in trouble. The pilot looked around at me. I could see he was sweating. I was standing up by now. Thoughts flashed through my mind. Bale out. But the pilot hasn’t said anything yet. He’s not jumping. Clip your parachute on anyway. I realised then it was too late. We were too near the sea. I think I was just about to start screaming when the engine picked up again and we gained some height. The pilot turned around and smiled. Smile of an angel. Later on my room mate Fred who lives in West Bromwich said that when he went in to the sergeant’s mess that day the chap behind the bar had said, ‘Go and have a look at Jock. He’s just come in and he doesn’t look too well. He’s had a double whisky but he’s gone off to his room.’ Well, looking at the face of death when you weren’t prepared for it was rather uncomfortable. I never did like flying over the sea. Given the choice I’d rather have crashed on land and gone up in a ball of smoke than have gone into the sea and drowned. I imagine much of aircrew must have gone to their deaths screaming their heads off when they couldn’t get out of a diving spinning crashing bomber.
[recording paused]
Talking about air to air firing at a drogue reminds me of my gunnery course at Penrhos. Three of us would go up in a Blenheim and we’d fire at a drogue with two hundred yards at our starboard beam. We’d each have about two hundred rounds, different tipped bullets in different colours. It was great to see the tracer going into it. We thought it would be full of holes. When we landed we checked the drogue laid flat out on the ground. It would be about thirty foot long and five foot wide I suppose. You’d be amazed. We only found four, five or six little holes of each colour. Amazing. We all expected to find about fifty. I think my highest percentage on that was eleven point one. Wasn’t too bad really. I noticed the remarks here at the end of the course. The course officer says, “A good sound air gunner. Has done well in theoretical subjects. Will make a very worthy member of an operational aircrew.” He should have said will make a very lucky member of an operational aircrew.
[recording paused]
On the first part of my air gunner’s course which was at Llandwrog, North Wales our billets were five or six miles from the mess. Yeah. Five or six miles. And we used to get transport back every night and in the morning in the RAF crew bus. If you missed the bus at night at 6 o’clock you had to walk. There was one chap there, I hope he came through alright. He used to amuse us. He used to sing umpteen verses of this song. We used to sing the last line. Here are some of the cleaner ones — [singing] When she got them they were fluffy, now they’re faded and they’re scruffy. The old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. When she sent them to the laundry they were seen by all and sundry. The old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. We sometimes laughed and grinned when they came up to her chin. The old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. She daren’t try to sneeze, they’d fall down to her knees. The old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. She’d say stop it, that’s enough when we tried to take them off. The old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. She’d be sometimes sick with fright if the elastic was too tight on the old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. She’d run and she would kick us when we’d say, ‘Show us your knickers.’ The old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. They were patched with a piece of rag where someone had dropped his fag on the old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. She went out with a second dickie but he tried to take the mickey out of the old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. She liked the band of Harry James, she sewed all their names to the old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. She went out with the soldier, they came back a little bit moldier. The old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. The night she went with Taffy they were found behind the NAAFI. The old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. On the line we knew them. You could almost see right through them. The old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. One day in her vest she stood. They were wrapped around the Christmas pud. The old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. She wouldn’t go with groupie ‘cause he said they were too droopy. The old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. They were tattered, they were torn around the bleep hole they were worn. The old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. One day for a prank someone tied them to a Lanc. The old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore. They went off on an op and they all got the chop with the old red flannel drawers that Maggie wore.
[recording paused]
Now, one or two stories about my second tour in Lancasters with 115 Squadron. In my first few ops there I was a mid-under gunner with a .5 Browning machine gun. They fitted this mid-under gun as they had learned that some German fighters were fitted with guns that fired straight up and they were shooting down a lot of bombers without the bomber crew seeing them at all. Then the rest of my ops were as a rear gunner. I had a busy start. Two ops in one day. Duisburg in the Happy Valley again. We took off at twenty to seven in the morning and we got back about eleven in the morning as well. We were looking forward to a nice lazy afternoon and a bit of fun in the mess that night but they said, ‘Get to bed. You’re on ops again tonight.’ We took off at 11 o’clock and got back about half past three in the morning. Plenty of flak both times. We did two ops on Essen. In the Ruhr again. One day off and one night off within three days. I think that finally knocked out the big Krupps factories there. Our next two ops were on Cologne. In the Ruhr again. Yeah. One day and one night. I did six ops on Cologne and on nearly every one got hammered by the flak. I’ll talk about the daylight op first. One thing about daylight raids there were no searchlights to fly through but the flak was more accurate. ‘Bomb doors open,’ said the pilot on the run up to the target. Always a terrifying moment this. A little piece of flak hitting the naked bombs in the bomb bay would have been the end of all of us. ‘Steady. Steady [pause] Bombs gone,’ said the bomb aimer. But they hadn’t. There were still a few stuck in the bomb bay. ‘We’ll go around again,’ said the pilot. This time some more bombs were dropped but still one or two hadn’t. ‘We’ll go around once more,’ said the pilot. I thought he’s mad, as we were being caught by the flak. The third time the flight engineer put his hand through the slots in the floor to release the mechanism by hand. When they got clear of the target we realised that one bomb was still with us.
[recording paused]
The pilot tried all sorts of tricks to shake it loose. I remember I jumped up and down on the gangway above it but it still wouldn’t go. When we got back to base at Witchford he said, ‘We just have to land with it.’ We were all a bit apprehensive. As soon as we touched the runway there was one almighty bang. Our hearts did turn over. Somebody shouted, ‘The bomb has fallen off and is jammed in the bomb doors.’ When we got to the end of the runway the pilot told the control tower and they said, ‘Taxi clear of the runway and abandon aircraft.’ Which we did. Very quickly. It was left to the armourers to sort everything out in the end. Two nights later Cologne again. Another hammering. The pilot got a DFC for these ops. I’ll read part of his citation. “In October 1944 he was captain and pilot of an aircraft detailed to attack Cologne. On his first time over the target the bomb release mechanism became defective and the bombs failed to drop. In spite of considerable anti-aircraft fire Flying Officer Andrewartha made a second and yet a third run over the target from which the bombs were dropped manually. Some days later he made another attack on the same target. Although his aircraft sustained extensive damage when hit by anti-aircraft fire he completed the mission successfully.” I enjoyed a reasonably low level daylight op in a place called Heinsberg. This town was supposed to be full of German soldiers. I fired a few rounds off with my .5 but the place had just vanished in the smoke and fires. I was rear gunner on the raid on Dresden. This was Bomber Command’s most murderous raid. They say that more than fifty thousand people were killed. It was an undefended city. No flak. No searchlights. It didn’t half burn.
[recording paused]
Five days later another real frightener. A daylight op on Wessel. We were belting along the runway on take-off. I was sat in the rear turret when suddenly smoke and flames came by me. They were shouting on the intercom, ‘The starboard inner has caught fire.’ ‘Too late,’ shouted the pilot, ‘Can’t stop. Must take off.’ And we did. Scraping a few hedges we crawled up in to the air somehow and the engine fire extinguisher was switched on and the fire went out. We couldn’t get any height on three engines with a bomb load. The pilot contacted the control tower and they said, ‘Drop your bombs in the North Sea.’ When we got back he was later reprimanded for breaking radio silence and was stopped two weeks pay. He didn’t buy a round in the pubs and we were all glad when the two weeks were up. It was a very hazy day that day. The fire engine and the ambulance, the blood wagon we called it said they were out scouring the countryside for us as they thought we had crashed.
[recording paused]
Next op. Osterfeld. Another hammering from the flak. We had just bombed and were a bit slow getting back in to the safety of the bomber stream. They were all dropping this aluminium foil called Window which upset the flak gun’s radar. We were out on our however when this heavy flak hit us. We went into a dive and I thought we’d had it. ‘It’s okay, boys. I’ve got it.’ Lovely words from the pilot. We came back on three engines. [pause] One day, on our day off I got up and started to get dressed. The lads in the hut said, ‘Where are you going?’ I said, ‘Down to the mess to get some breakfast. I’m hungry.’ They said, ‘You’re too late. It's gone 9 o’clock.’ I said, ‘Oh, I’ll try anyway.’ So, I went down and they did say that breakfast was finished. It was flying meals only as there was ops on that day. So, I said very cleverly that I was down as a spare gunner. So, I had my breakfast. I was enjoying it immensely when this WAAF came over and said, ‘Are you an air gunner?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ She said, ‘Will you answer the phone then, please.’ It was the gunnery leader. He said, ‘Who’s that?’ I said, ‘It’s me. Jock.’ ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘You’re off today, aren’t you?’ He said, ‘Your crew’s on a stand down.’ I said, ‘Yeah. That’s right.’ ‘Go and see if there’s any more gunners in the mess will you?’ I looked around. I said, ‘No. There’s only me. There’s just me in the mess. Mealtime.’ He then said he was in a jam as a couple of gunners had gone sick at the last minute and he was one gunner short for a crew. So, he said to me, ‘How’s about it? Will you help me out?’ So, I said, ‘Okay.’ And he said, ‘Thanks. Come up to the briefing room as soon as you can.’ I got a bit of a shock when I found the target was Cologne again. And that one to pick for my fiftieth op but this was an easy one for a change. My own crew wondered where I’d got to. They were amazed when they found out I’d gone on ops with another crew. All because I went out for breakfast.
[recording paused]
On one daylight raid we were on the way to the target and there were two Lancs ahead of us. I was in the front turret that day as we had engine trouble on E-Easy and had to use a spare aircraft which didn’t have a mid-under gun so I went to the front turret. I don’t know which op this was but I seem to have put down E-Easy in my logbook. Force of habit, I suppose. Anyway, about these two Lancs ahead of us. The pilot said, ‘I’ll try and catch them up and we’ll fly in formation.’ A minute or two later instead of two Lancs there was a small ball of fire and one Lanc. And then a large ball of fire and a small ball of fire. Then two huge balls of fire. Then smoke. Then nothing. And that was it. One Lanc had blown up and the explosion had blown the other one up. It’s a good job we didn’t catch up with them or we would have been just some more crosses in the sky.
[recording paused]
I remember an air gunner called Bob [Hogman] He was in our hut. I was sat in the mess one night when he came in, just back off leave. I said, ‘Hello Bob, did you have a good leave?’ He said he hadn’t. He said he was very fed up and didn’t feel like flying any more. ‘It’s just not worth it.’ he said. ‘And I see by the battle order I’m on ops tomorrow.’ So, I said, ‘What’s up, Bob?’ He said his wife was six months pregnant so he took her to hospital for a check up. They went on the bus, he said and it was standing room only both ways and nobody would give his wife a seat. He was quite upset. The next day he was flying beside us over the target when his plane got hit by flak, caught fire and dived straight in. As I was in the mid-under I didn’t see it, thank heaven. The other two gunners did and were rather shaken by it.
[recording paused]
On that trip my mid-upper was wounded. Got some flak in his ear. Bob [ Hogman’s ] rear gunner used to have some records. One of them used to give us a laugh when we played it in the billet because one of the lines was, ‘Chop, chop, chop and his head came off.’ I played it once more. Then threw it in the dustbin.
[recording pause]
There were two brothers in the squadron. Two Canadians named Flood flying in the same aircraft. One was a mid-upper gunner and the other one was a rear gunner. Another Canadian named Brown used to waken us many times in the billet by grinding his teeth in his sleep. It was terrible. The brothers went missing. The grinder survived. I wouldn’t be surprised if he and his wife sleep in different rooms.
[recording pause]
On one daylight op about twenty ME109s attacked the bomber stream and shot down about seven Lancasters before the fighter escort sorted them out. That was just in front of us so we escaped once again. I remember one time I had a month off flying as I had damaged my ear drums. Had a week in hospital. On another daylight raid the target was covered by cloud. We were told in that case that if we couldn’t see the target to bomb targets of opportunity so we flew around a bit and then noticed this bridge over the Rhine. So we bombed it and missed. The bombs going each side of it. I’ve often wondered if this was the famous Remagen Bridge which the Germans failed to blow up and that the American Army crossed over. It was around about this time. In films and books about it they said the bridge was bombed but it was still standing. Yes. It could have been us. Another time we bombed a small town. Five hundred pounders went straight up the main street and the Cookie hit the big building at the end. The Town Hall I suppose. I hope it wasn’t a church. Or a school.
[recording paused]
Dortmund. Happy Valley again. This daylight raid was the one where I realised that my nerves were getting the better of me and I had done enough. I could have finished flying two or three ops before this as I had done twenty ops with 115 Squadron and that was the amount you had to do for your second tour. This op was my forty seventh. We were flying in cloud when suddenly heavy flak burst all around us. I couldn’t see it but I could hear it. And when you could hear it it was close. We flew on but the flak kept with us. I realised the flak batteries had got us on radar on and were after us. This lasted quite a while. I said a few words to God that day and made all sorts of promises. When we landed I thought well I’ll do three more to make it the round fifty. And then I did one for luck. Fifty one. Eight more than I should have done really.
[recording paused]
[singing] No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more dicey targets. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more Jerry fighters. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more Jerry flak guns. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more Jerry searchlights. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more P for Peter. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more Peenemunde. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more missing room mates. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more flak for breakfast. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more E for Easy. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more frozen fingers. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more flying heroes. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more Happy Valley. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more tail end Charlie. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. No more ops for me. I’ll live to be a hundred. No more ops for me.
[recording paused]
It used to get rather cold in the rear turret. Above everything else I used to wear a couple of blankets over my head and shoulders. Sometimes I used to take a bottle of good Scotch specimen and throw it out from the rear turret. I painted a bottle yellow one day so that I could see it better going all the way down on a daylight raid and would you believe it? It landed in the river. I was quite attached to an old cap I used to wear until the folks at home said, ‘For Pete’s sake why don’t you lose that old cap.’ So, I chucked that overboard as well.
[recording paused]
A bicycle was always handy at the airfield but at 115 they’d all been issued out so I carried on without one. Did quite a bit of walking. Then one day I noticed one outside the sergeant’s mess. It would be covered up at dinnertime and teatime by fifty or so more bicycles and then it would be left standing on its own again. So I kept my eye on it for a day or two and realised it must have belonged to someone who had got the chop so I claimed it and became the new owner.
[recording paused]
I’ve been asked what was it like over the target. Well, going in to a main German target was like walking through the gates of hell naked. We always felt naked once the bomb doors were opened. Searchlights everywhere and plenty of flak. Lots of smoke where the flak had been. I half expected them to burst back into life again when we flew near them. Sometimes we’d see a plane caught in the searchlights and being hammered by the flak. This was handy because we used to creep over the target unnoticed then. Bombs bursting on the ground everywhere. Huge fires. Now and then a huge explosion and smoke. Always smoke. Photoflashes turning night into day for a split second. The Pathfinder flares horrifyingly beautiful. Sometimes hanging in the sky for sky marking like chandeliers and falling to the ground like huge Christmas trees. Lying there till they were bombed out of existence and a fresh lot were dropped. Gorgeous colours they were. Especially the reds and greens. Sometimes we’d hear a master bomber, ‘Bomb the reds. Bomb the reds. Leave the greens.’ Whichever was the nearest to the aiming point. It was comforting to hear another voice. It made us all feel we weren’t alone. Our mouths were very dry after leaving the target area and had a nice cup of coffee out of the flask. Nearly as nice as the mug of coffee and rum we had when we got back.
[recording paused]
There seemed to have been more incidents on my second tour but I think the first one in Stirlings was the hardest. The most fearful. Probably doing some daylights on my second tour helped a bit. It’s a good job they weren’t vice versa. The other way around. I wouldn’t have fancied doing a tour on Stirlings after a tour on Lancs.
[recording paused]
I was waiting for a train at the local station to take me home on leave one day. We had six days leave every six weeks while on ops but I did enjoy them. I never knew which one would be my last. I got talking to another air gunner who happened to be waiting for transport to the squadron. He was a Scots lad. Nice chap. When I got back off leave I couldn’t see him about. He’d gone missing on his first op. The war was still being cruel.
[recording paused]
Remember this. The BBC news at 1 o’clock three or four times a week. [radio recording begins] “This is the BBC in London. Here is the news. In the early hours of this morning RAF Bomber Command launched a major raid on Berlin. Of the five hundred and ninety six aircraft which took part in the raid forty six are missing.” [radio recording stops] It must have been terrible for the wives and mothers and sweethearts of aircrew to hear that. Then waiting for a phone call or a letter which sometimes never came. We often lost a lot more bombers. The worst one of course was Nuremberg. Ninety three missing.
[recording paused]
On 90 Squadron one day we all had to report to the briefing room. An aircrew chap was telling his story of how his Stirling was shot down and he had to bale out. He managed to get back to England with the help of the Dutch and the French Resistance. One thing he said stuck in my mind. ‘If you have to bale out through the escape hatch don’t just fall out. You must jump out.’ He said, ‘A member of my crew baled out just before me. He just fell through the hatch and scattered his brains all over my flying boots.’
[recording paused]
I finished second on my air gunner’s course. Just a half a point behind another chap. They offered us both a commission but we turned it down. We were too young then to know what it was all about. But that was another stroke of luck. If I’d taken a commission I would probably have gone to a different squadron with a different crew and it’s practically certain I wouldn’t have survived.
[recording paused]
When I was at Benson Aerodrome just after I’d finished my second tour somebody in the mess said the station adjutant wanted to see me. When I went in to his office he said, ‘Warrant Officer Guyan, when I came around inspecting your hut this morning with the CO you were asleep in bed.’ I said, ‘That’s right. It was my day off.’ He said, ‘That makes no difference. On a CO’s inspection you are supposed to be dressed and standing by your bed.’ So for punishment he made me orderly officer twice a week for three months. Whenever anybody else had to do it for the first time they were told, ‘Go and see Jock. He’ll tell you all about it.’ A day or two later I was told the adjutant wanted to see me again. I thought what now? I went in to his office and he said, ‘Warrant Officer Guyan, I wish to inform you that you have been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. You can wear the ribbon as from today.’ Back in the mess there was cheers all round until somebody said, ‘What about the money?’ I said, ‘What money?’ He said, ‘You’re supposed to get some money with the DFC. Didn’t the adj mention it?’ I said, ‘No.’ Anyway, I went down to see him again. He must have been sick of the sight of me by now. So, I asked him if there was any financial reward with the DFC and he said, ‘Yes. Twenty pounds. But officers usually give it to the RAF Benevolent Fund.’ So I said, ‘But I’m just a non-commissioned warrant officer and twenty pounds is more than six weeks pay.’ So he said, ‘Alright. I’ll see you get it at the next pay parade.’ When I did get it we had a nice party in the mess that weekend.
[recording paused]
All this might not have happened if my name had not been Guyan. I’m going back to my air gunner’s course. The big day had arrived, we were going to fly for the first time. We’d been issued with our flying gear weeks before and now at last we put it on ready to fly. Now we were kings of the air. We were going up in a Blenheim for twenty minutes or so to check that we could, that we wouldn’t be too sick. I never was. The instructor shouted, ‘Form up outside the hangar.’ And we all rushed out and started to queue. ‘Come on’ he said ‘Come on, sort yourselves out. Let’s have alphabetical order.’ Which we did. We enviously watched the first three get in the Blenheim. One was a chap called Anderson, I remember. We watched it speed along the runway and take off. Then it suddenly turned over and crashed. They were all killed. So, all the flying these three air gunners did was less than ten seconds. So, Guyan you say. Funny name. Now, Guyan, lovely name.
[recording paused]
I’ve often wondered why I stayed alive when so many other men, better men around me were killed. What have I done to justify it? I haven’t done much with my life. I’ve been good to my dear wife, Helen. My two smashing sons, Andrew, Rob. Will that be enough? I suppose one day I’ll know the answer.
[recording paused]
It’s probably true that if you gave a chap who flew during the war one hour to talk about his life he’d spend fifty minutes talking about his flying days. So, I’ll finish with a touch of the Len [Howards] I suppose and the help of Jimmy Shand.
[recording paused]
[singing] We fly, you and I, in the sky, laddies to fight for liberty. We’d fight day and night in the sky, laddies so that people would be safe and free. We hoped we’d come back over the sea, laddies. For some it was never meant to be. I sighed when they died in the sky, laddies but they still live in my memory. We hoped we’d come back o’er the sea, laddies. For some it was never meant to be. I cried when you died in the sky, laddies. You still live in my memories.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Samuel Guyan comments and memoirs
Description
An account of the resource
'Jock' Guyan comments on his operations. the recording includes audio clips from a documentary including excerpts of Arthur Harris, engine noises and interviews.
Samuel Guyan flew an operational tour with 90 Squadron and a second tour with 115 Squadron where he manned a .5 calibre gun beneath the aircraft. In all he flew fifty one operations. Including one where his crew thought he was just going for his breakfast but found himself flying that night with another crew as a spare gunner.
He sings several songs including 'Ops on a Stirling' to the tune of Waltzing Matilda, 'The old red flannels drawers that Maggie wore' and 'No more ops for me'.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Samuel Guyan
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Great Britain
Italy
England--Farnborough (Hampshire)
England--Suffolk
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Krefeld
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Wuppertal
Italy--Turin
Germany
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Hampshire
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
01:28:55 audio recording
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944-06-09
1945
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
AGuyanS[Date]-01
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Julie Williams
Carolyn Emery
115 Squadron
12 OTU
90 Squadron
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
Ju 88
Lancaster
Me 110
military discipline
Operational Training Unit
RAF Benson
RAF Dalcross
RAF Farnborough
RAF Penrhos
RAF Shenington
RAF Wratting Common
searchlight
Spitfire
Stirling
superstition
training
Wellington
Window
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1943/34755/LGuyanS1551813v1.2.pdf
8076a3203c508dc46d4455bfb9d4772a
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Guyan, Samuel
S Guyan
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-09-23
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Guyan, S
Description
An account of the resource
40 items. The collection concerns Warrant Officer Samuel Guyan DFC (Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, audio memoir and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 90 and 115 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Andrew Guyan and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Samual Guyan's Royal Air Force Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
S Guyans’ Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book covering the period 24 January 1943 to 17 Mar 1945. Detailing his flying training and operations flown as air gunner. He was stationed at RAF Penrhos (9 [O] AFU), RAF Marham (1483 Gunnery Flight), RAF Waterbeach (1651 HCU), RAF Ridgewell & RAF Wratting Common (90 Squadron), RAF Edgehill (RAF Shenington) (12 OTU), RAF Dalcross (2 AGS) and RAF Witchford (115 Squadron). Aircraft flown in were Blenheim, Wellington, Anson, Henley, Martinet, Stirling and Lancaster. He flew on 23 night operations with 90 Squadron and 18 day and 10 night operations with 115 Squadron. Targets were Bordeaux, Boulogne, Le Creusot, Modane, Bochum, Chemnitz, Cologne, Dortmund, Dresden, Duisburg, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frisian Islands, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Hannover, Heinsberg, Hohenbudberg, Homberg, Huls, Kamen, Krefeld, Mannheim, Munich, Neuss, Nuremburg, Osterfeld, Peenemunde, Remscheid, Trier, Turin, Wesel and Wuppertal. His pilots on operations were Sergeant Appleby, Flying Officer Andrewartha, Flight Sergeant Noble, Flight Lieutenant Dagnon, Flying Officer Roberts, Flight Lieutenant Snyder and Flying Officer Burbridge.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-05-23
1943-05-25
1943-05-27
1943-05-29
1943-06-03
1943-06-11
1943-06-19
1943-06-21
1943-06-28
1943-07-03
1943-07-24
1943-07-27
1943-07-29
1943-07-30
1943-08-02
1943-08-10
1943-08-12
1943-08-16
1943-08-17
1943-09-05
1943-09-08
1943-09-16
1943-09-22
1943-09-23
1944-10-14
1944-10-19
1944-10-23
1944-10-28
1944-10-29
1944-11-15
1944-11-20
1944-11-21
1944-11-23
1944-11-27
1944-12-23
1945-01-06
1945-01-07
1945-01-22
1945-02-09
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-16
1945-02-18
1945-02-22
1945-02-25
1945-02-26
1945-02-28
1945-03-01
1945-03-02
1945-03-17
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Ely
England--Essex
England--Norfolk
England--Oxfordshire
England--Suffolk
Scotland--Inverness-shire
Wales--Gwynedd
Germany--Krefeld
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Wuppertal
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
France--Le Creusot
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Nuremberg
Italy--Turin
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Mannheim
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Modane
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Essen
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Homberg (Kassel)
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Trier
France--Nevers
Germany--Munich
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Chemnitz
Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Germany--Osterfeld
Germany--Kamen
France
Italy
Germany
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Heinsberg (Heinsberg)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
A printed book with handwritten annotations
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LGuyanS1551813v1
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Terry Hancock
115 Squadron
12 OTU
1651 HCU
90 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
Blenheim
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
Heavy Conversion Unit
Ju 88
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 1
Martinet
mine laying
Operational Training Unit
RAF Dalcross
RAF Marham
RAF Penrhos
RAF Ridgewell
RAF Shenington
RAF Waterbeach
RAF Witchford
RAF Wratting Common
Stirling
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/583/10656/NHolmesGH161021-01.2.jpg
6cf55adf9840027e69e995c1f92b75d6
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Holmes, George
George Henry Holmes
G H Holmes
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Holmes, GH
Description
An account of the resource
Nine items. An oral history interview with Pilot Officer George Holmes (b. 1922, 1579658, 187788 Royal Air Force) his log book, records of operation, newspaper cuttings and photographs of personnel. He flew operations as a wireless operator / air gunner with 9, 50 and 83 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by George Holmes and catalogued by Nigel Huckins
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-10-21
2017-01-14
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
RUSSIA STORMS AT 1945 RAID
‘Dresden terror’
From SELKIRK PANTON
BERLIN, Sunday. – The Soviet authorities in Germany today launched a virulent propaganda campaign against Britain and America for bombing Dresden five years ago.
Tonight the Communist German Government of Saxony ordered a one-minute silence at noon tomorrow throughout Saxony.
All traffic will be stopped, said Herr Max Seydewitz, Saxony’s Moscow – trained Communist Premier, “to remind people of the destruction of Dresden by Anglo-American terror bombing.”
The bombing of Dresden by U.S. bombers on February 14, 1945, was carried out at the urgent request of the Soviet Supreme Command as the Red Army was advancing on the city. They claimed that strong Nazi forces were concentrated there.
THIS IS WHY
Chief aim of the new Russian campaign is to gain sympathy for the German Communists in Eastern Germany, and to brand the British and Americans as “brutal warmongers.”
The campaign was started today in the official Soviet organ Taeglische Rundschau, which devoted to it a whole page with German photographs of dead victims.
Under a six-column banner headline, “Ruined Dresden Warns – Fight Against the Imperialistic Gangster War,” the Soviet organ writes :-
“Dresden is an accusation against the stranglehold of Fascism and imperialist warmongers, just as our ruined Soviet towns are.”
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Russia Storms at 1945 Raid
Description
An account of the resource
A newspaper article reporting on East German and Soviet vilification of the Allied bombing of Dresden in 1945. The article refers to the bombing of Dresden having been carried out five years ago. The aim was to gain sympathy for German communists in East Germany.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Selkirk Panton
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One newspaper cutting
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
NHolmesGH161021-01
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Dresden
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Claire Monk
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
perception of bombing war
propaganda
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/934/36496/LHastieR1821369v1.2.pdf
f6d53a24c35a91b249cf97affa057b4e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Lovatt, Peter
Dr Peter Lovatt
P Lovatt
Description
An account of the resource
117 items. An oral history interview with Peter Lovatt (b.1924, 1821369 Royal Air Force), his log book, documents, and photographs. The collection also contains two photograph albums. He flew 42 operations as an air gunner on 223 Squadron flying B-24s. <br /><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/1338">Album One</a><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2135">Album Two</a><br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Nina and Peter Lovatt and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-09-27
2019-09-03
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Lovatt, P
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Roy Hastie's pilot's flying log book
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LHastieR1821369v1
Description
An account of the resource
Pilot's flying log book for Roy Hastie. It covers his RAF service from 9 December 1940 to 31 March 1946 and then his RAF Auxilliary Service flying to 23 May 1952. Detailing his flying training and operations flown firstly with Coastal Command and then with Bomber Command. He was stationed at RAF Perth, RAF Thornaby, RAF Squires Gate, RAF Eastleigh, East Coast USA, Trinidad, RAF Catfoss, Nassau, Bahamas, RAF Oulton, RAF Feltwell, RAF Riccall, RAF Lulsgate Bottom and RAF Dishforth. Aircraft flown in were Tiger Moth, Oxford, Tutor, Hudson, Blenheim, Botha, Beaufighter, B-25, B-24, Proctor, Hurricane, Spitfire, Chipmunk and Anson. With Coastal Command he flew anti-shipping operations with 53 Squadron, including a ditching. He transferred to 223 Squadrton in Bomber Command and flew 39 operations, mostly using Window in a counter-measures and spoof attacks role but including some bombing attacks. Targets include Hamburg, Bochum, Hanover, Ruhr region, Neuss, Duisburg, Essen, Karlsruhe, Ludwigshaven, Ulm, Cologne, Munich, Magdeberg, Stuttgart, Siegen, Dresden, Chemnitz, Dortmund Ems, Wesel, Kiel, and Augsberg.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-10-07
1944-10-09
1944-10-11
1944-10-19
1944-10-26
1944-11-01
1944-11-04
1944-11-18
1944-11-21
1944-11-28
1944-11-30
1944-12-02
1944-12-04
1944-12-12
1944-12-15
1944-12-17
1944-12-21
1944-12-24
1945-01-05
1945-01-07
1945-01-14
1945-01-16
1945-01-28
1945-02-01
1945-02-02
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-20
1945-02-21
1945-02-23
1945-02-28
1945-03-03
1945-03-07
1945-03-13
1945-03-23
1945-04-02
1945-04-08
1945-04-13
1945-04-18
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Air Force. Coastal Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photocopy
223 Squadron
aircrew
Anson
B-24
B-25
Beaufighter
Blenheim
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Botha
ditching
Flying Training School
Heavy Conversion Unit
Hudson
Hurricane
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
Proctor
RAF Catfoss
RAF Dishforth
RAF Eastleigh
RAF Feltwell
RAF Oulton
RAF Riccall
RAF Thornaby
Spitfire
Tiger Moth
training
Window
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/89/876/LCalvertRA1488619v1.1.pdf
a4d74b59eb8d89a89607ee6b934e1006
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Calvert, Roger
R A Calvert
Description
An account of the resource
Seven items. The collection consists of an oral history interview with Flight Lieutenant Roger Alfred Calvert (b. 1923, 1488619; 152814), his logbook, navigators training course class book and 3 photographs. Roger Calvert was a navigator with 141 Squadron at RAF West Raynham flying Mosquitos on night intruder operations. For most of his operational career his pilot was Flight Lieutenant John Thatcher.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Roger Calvert and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-04-24
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Calvert, R
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Roger Calvert's Royal Canadian Air Force flying log book for aircrew other than pilot
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LCalvertRA1488619v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
France
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Ontario--London
England--Bedfordshire
England--Herefordshire
England--Norfolk
England--Northumberland
France--Dieppe
France--Paris
France--Pas-de-Calais
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Darmstadt
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Emden (Lower Saxony)
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)
Germany--Merseburg
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)
Germany--Osnabrück
Germany--Rüsselsheim
Germany--Schleswig-Holstein
Poland--Szczecin
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Wiesbaden
Netherlands--IJssel Lake
Netherlands--Zeist
Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)
Poland
Ontario
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Description
An account of the resource
Royal Canadian Air Force flying log book for aircrew other than pilot of Flight Lieutenant Roger Calvert from 25 March 1943 to 6 July 1945. Detailing training and operations flown. Served at RAF Cranfield, RAF Great Massingham, RAF Ouston, RAF Twinwood Farm and RAF West Raynham. Aircraft flown were Anson, Beaufighter, Mosquito, Oxford, Tiger Moth and Wellington. He carried out a total of 32 intruder operations as a navigator with 141 Squadron from RAF West Raynham on the following targets in France, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands: Bochum, Bremen, Darmstadt, Dieppe, Dortmund, Dresden, Emden, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Kiel, Mainz, Merseberg (Leipzig), Nuremberg, Oberhausen, Osnabruck, Pante-Lunne airfield, Paris, Pas de Calais, Politz, the Ruhr, Russelhelm, Schlesvig, Steenwjik aerodrome, Stettin, Stuttgart, Wiesbaden, Zeist and Zuider Zee. His pilots on operations were Squadron Leader Thatcher and Flying Officer Rimer. The log book is well annotated and contains a green endorsement and several photographs of aircraft flown and attacked. Notes include an air sea rescue sortie, the sighting of a V-2 and one Me-110 claimed.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944-07-18
1944-07-19
1944-07-20
1944-07-21
1944-08-07
1944-08-08
1944-08-09
1944-08-10
1944-08-11
1944-08-12
1944-08-12
1944-08-13
1944-08-16
1944-08-17
1944-08-18
1944-08-19
1944-08-25
1944-08-26
1944-08-26
1944-08-27
1944-08-30
1944-09-11
1944-09-12
1944-09-12
1944-09-13
1944-09-15
1944-09-16
1944-09-17
1944-10-04
1944-10-06
1944-10-09
1944-10-19
1944-10-26
1944-10-29
1944-11-01
1944-11-04
1944-11-06
1944-11-10
1945-01-13
1945-01-14
1945-01-15
1945-01-16
1945-01-17
1945-01-28
1945-01-29
1945-02-01
1945-02-02
1945-02-03
1945-02-04
1945-02-08
1945-02-09
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-04-22
1945-04-23
1945
141 Squadron
21 Squadron
Air Gunnery School
Air Observers School
air sea rescue
aircrew
Anson
Beaufighter
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Initial Training Wing
Me 110
Mosquito
navigator
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
RAF Cranfield
RAF Great Massingham
RAF Ouston
RAF Padgate
RAF Torquay
RAF Twinwood Farm
RAF West Raynham
Tiger Moth
training
V-2
V-weapon
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1505/28856/SDaviesLA1581024v10004.2.pdf
b3df53ab0cf582d58504080a267c232d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Davies, Leslie and Jack
Leslie Alfred Davies
L A Davies
John Richard Davies
J R Davies
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-04-28
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Davies, LA-JR
Description
An account of the resource
49 items. Collection concerns Leslie Alfred Davies (1922-1996, 1581024 Royal Air Force) and his brother John Richard Davies ( - 1944, 1580941). Leslie served as a Lancaster navigator on of 50 Squadron completing his tour of 30 operations in March 1945. John served a Lancaster bomb aimer on 166 Squadron He was killed in action 3 August 1944. Collection consists of Leslie's crew's individual logbooks and biographies, operational histories, photographs of people, aircraft and a grave, documents and correspondence. <br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Murray Davies and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. <br /><br />Additional information on John Richard Davies is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/105795/">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Robert Smith flying log book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SDaviesLA1581024v10004
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
Flying log book for R M Smith, flight engineer, covering the period from August 1944 to 16 November 1945. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF St Athan, RAF Wigsley, RAF Syerston and RAF Skellingthorpe. Aircraft flown in were Stirling, Lancaster, and Oxford. He flew a total of 30 operations with 50 Squadron. 5 daylight and 25 night. Targets were Flushing, Nuremberg, Dusseldorf, Harburg, Dortmund-Ems Canal, Duren, Munich, Heilbronn, Gdynia, Politz, Houffalize. Royan, Merseburg, Karlsruhe, Dresden, Bohlen, Mitteland Canal and Bremen. His pilot on operations was Flight Lieutenant Jones. This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944
1945
1944-10-07
1944-10-11
1944-10-17
1944-10-18
1944-11-02
1944-11-03
1944-11-06
1944-11-07
1944-11-11
1944-11-12
1944-11-16
1944-11-21
1944-11-22
1944-11-26
1944-11-27
1944-12-04
1944-12-05
1944-12-17
1944-12-18
1944-12-19
1944-12-21
1944-12-22
1944-12-30
1944-12-31
1945-01-01
1945-01-02
1945-01-04
1945-01-05
1945-01-07
1945-01-08
1945-01-13
1945-01-14
1945-01-15
1945-02-02
1945-02-03
1945-02-08
1945-02-09
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-19
1945-02-20
1945-02-21
1945-02-22
1945-02-24
1945-03-05
1945-03-06
1945-03-07
1945-03-08
1945-03-10
1945-03-11
1945-03-22
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Poland
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Belgium--Houffalize
England--Lincolnshire
England--Nottinghamshire
France--Royan
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Düren (Cologne)
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Harburg (Landkreis)
Germany--Heilbronn
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Leipzig Region
Germany--Merseburg
Germany--Mittelland Canal
Germany--Munich
Germany--Nuremberg
Netherlands--Vlissingen
Poland--Gdynia
Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)
Wales--Vale of Glamorgan
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
1654 HCU
50 Squadron
aircrew
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
flight engineer
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Oxford
RAF Skellingthorpe
RAF St Athan
RAF Syerston
RAF Wigsley
Stirling
training
Window
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1732/30436/MBeislyJWT1593305-200929-010001.1.jpg
1c0303a02e84a0105ae624cb92fbc851
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1732/30436/MBeislyJWT1593305-200929-010002.1.jpg
4faf834d74c1c59653e21e64a7fedc1d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Beisley, John
John W T Beisley
J W T Beisley
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020-09-29
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Beisley, JWT
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. The collection concerns John Beisley (b. 1925, 1593305 Royal Air Force) who flew 30 operations as a flight engineer on Halifax and Lancaster with 433 Squadron. Collection contains a summary of his operations, official documentation and a memoir.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by GA Thompson and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Record of John Beisley's 30 operations
Description
An account of the resource
Summary of bombing operations with 433 Squadron from 11 August 1944 to 26 March 1945, Flew as flight engineer on Halifax and then converted to Lancaster December / January 44/45.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page printed document
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MBeislyJWT1593305-200929-01
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
France
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
France--Le Havre
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Germany--Kiel
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Calais
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Essen
Germany--Homburg (Saarland)
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Jülich
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
Germany--Castrop-Rauxel
Germany--Neuss
Germany--Bonn
Germany--Goch
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)
Germany--Chemnitz
Germany--Dessau (Dessau)
Germany--Elbe River Estuary
Germany--Dithmarschen Region
Germany--Bottrop
Germany--Hannover
Great Britain
England--Sussex
England--Norfolk
England--Suffolk
England--Cumbria
England--Cambridgeshire
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-08-11
1944-09-12
1944-09-14
1944-09-15
1944-09-17
1944-09-20
1944-09-23
1944-09-25
1944-09-27
1944-09-28
1944-10-09
1944-10-23
1944-10-25
1944-10-28
1944-09-30
1944-10-31
1944-11-04
1944-11-05
1944-11-16
1944-11-18
1944-11-20
1944-11-21
1944-11-27
1944-11-28
1944-11-30
1945-02-04
1945-02-07
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-21
1945-02-27
1945-03-02
1945-03-05
1945-03-06
1945-03-07
1945-03-08
1945-03-16
1945-03-21
1945-03-24
1945-03-25
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
433 Squadron
aircrew
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
flight engineer
Halifax
Lancaster
mine laying
RAF Ford
RAF Foulsham
RAF Waterbeach
RAF Woodbridge
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/868/30737/BHendersonIGHendersonIGv1.1.pdf
babbe24b6c861a414594a7d6bd140d10
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/868/30737/MHendersonIG19220504-170913-03.1.jpg
3c1352a2f7b2bea104514a934a8bb9dc
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Henderson, Ian
Ian Grant Henderson
I G Henderson
Description
An account of the resource
Five items. An oral history interview with Ian Henderson DFM (b. 1922), his log book, a diary of operation, a memoir and a photograph. He flew operations as a navigator with 153 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Ian Henderson and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Collection is NtA.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-09-18
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Henderson, IG
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
1
Recollections of the navigator of one of the Lancasters which took part in the attack of Dresden on 13th/14th February 1945.
One of the Lancasters which bombed Dresden was “P” Peter which was one of the fifteen aircraft from 153 Squadron which was based at Scampton, Lincolnshire.
The crew of “P” Peter was made up of a South African, Donald Legg who was the pilot, a Canadian Russell Rawlings, the wireless operator, a Welshman from Liverpool, Dave Jones, who was the bomb aimer, an Englishman Andy Andrews, the upper gunner and three
[page break]
2.
Scots, Ian Henderson, the navigator Jack Ross the flight engineer and Jock Beat the rear gunner.
Donald Legg, the South African was 32 and much older than the other members of the crew who were in their early twenties.
The Lancaster “P” Peter was the second one of that name which this crew had had. Their first one had been destroyed a few weeks earlier when after a bombing operation on the Urft dam the first “P” Peter had been hit by flak which had started a fire in the port engine. The fire could not be extinguished but the pilot had been able to fly as far as Brussells [sic] and to land there. Brussells [sic] was at that time in the hands of the Allies.
[page break]
3.
At the briefing before the operation the crews were advised that the target was to be Dresden and that the Russians had particularly asked that the RAF carry out the attack to help them. The Russians had believed that there was a build up of German troops and armour in Dresden preparing to make a counter attack on them.
To the crews involved it was simply another operation, the principal difference between it and the others being that it was for a longer distance than the average operation and that they would be under possible attack from enemy fighters and flak for a longer period of time.
[page break]
4.
There was a strong wind from the west blowing when “P” Peter took off at 21.22 pm.
After climbing to 10,000 feet it joined the main bomber force at Reading and then headed south east on a course of 148° crossing the English coast near Eastbourne and the French coast near Abbeyville. It then altered course to 109° until 0053 am when at a point 20 miles from Darmstadt it altered course to 086° and flew on it for 14 minutes for about 65 miles heading in the direction of Nurnberg. It then altered course again to 081° and flew towards a point to the north of Nurnberg.
[page break]
5.
At 0107 am it altered course to 045° and flew towards Leipzig. When about 35 miles south of Leipzig it made its last change of course to 082° direct to Dresden which it reached at 0138.
It had now flown 843 miles in 4 hours and 16 minutes and was at a height of 18000 feet. The temperature was minus 23c. and the speed of the wind was 82 miles per hour.
The bomb aimer Dave Jones then directed the pilot to the target which was a factory on the south bank of the Elbe and released the bomb load accurately on the target at 1.40 am.
[page break]
6.
Immediately after the bombs were released the navigator gave the pilot a new couse [sic] to fly south east from Dresden for 14 miles. At 146 am the pilot was asked to change his course to 243° ie to the south west and to fly to a point 25 miles south of Chemnitz (which incidentally the crew returned to on another operation the following night) After flying 62 miles on this course the aircraft again changed course to 226° and flew to a point about 20 miles south east of Nurnberg “P” Peter then flew the next 111 miles on a course of 248° to a point about 20 miles south of Stuttgart which it reached at 3.28 am.
[page break]
7.
At that point the navigator asked the pilot to change course to 268° and to fly on that course for 110 miles to a point 25 miles south of Strasbourg which was reached at 4.13 am.
“P” Peter was still flying at 18,000 feet into a westerly head wind which had increased to 90 mph. The pilot then realised that there was not enough petrol in the tanks to get home if the last dog leg on the flight plan was followed and that it was essential to fly on a straight course back to Scampton. He therefore asked the navigator to work out a new course direct to Base and was given a course of 305%[sic]. He reduced height from 18,000 feet
[page break]
8.
to 10,000 feet at which height the speed of the wind fell from 90 mph to 45 mph. At the lower height the temperature rose from minus 23c to minus 8c.
There were still 460 miles to fly to base.
“P” Peter crossed the French coast near Dunkirk at 6.21 am and reached Scampton at 7.36 am with its fuel tanks almost empty.
Due to diversionary tactics which confused the Germans no enemy fighters were encountered on this operation but this was very exceptional and there had been no sign of the Luftwaffe being any less strong or active previous to or after the Dresden operation. In the previous week “P” Peter had taken part in a raid of Politz near Stellin and had being [sic] damaged after being hit in the port
[page break]
9.
engine. On the following night, the 14th of February “P” Peter and its crew were detailed to fly on another long flight to Chemnitz which was 35 miles west of Dresden when the aircraft was hit 5 times.
Most of the Dresden crews were given time to rest after the long Dresden flight and the writer cannot remember why his crew were asked to fly on two very long flights on two nights running.
In the following week on 21st February when “P” Peter and its crew took part in a raid on Duisburg the flight engineer Jack Ross counted 5 Lancasters going down in flames after being hit by enemy fighters or anti aircraft fire.
[page break]
10.
The personal views of the navigator about the attack on Dresden are that at the time it was just one other operation which was intended to give assistance to the Russian allies and be a further step in defeating the enemy which had still a powerful war machine in operation and was quite capable of carrying on the war long enough to develop and use the more powerful weapons which they were working on namely guided rockets and the atom bomb.
He firmly believes that the devastating destruction caused to Dresden, which was contributed to by an exceptionally strong wind that night, was such a psychological blow to the Germans that it resulted in the war ending
[page break]
11.
many months earlier than it would otherwise have done and so saved probably hundreds of thousands of lives of death camp prisoners, British and American servicemen and British civilians.
At this stage of the war Germany still occupied much of Europe including Yugoslavia, Greece and the Channel Islands. Jews were still being murdered and the gas chambers were still operating in the concentration camps.
The Germans had developed a new weapon, the V2, and were attacking London with these rockets.
There was no clear indication of when the war which was in its fifth year would end.
The orders to bomber crews were to hit only military targets and this they endeavoured to do despite the heavy enemy defences.
“P” Peter seldom returned from raids over Germany with scaring.
[page break]
1. 26.9.44 – Calais. Day.
2. 28.9.44 – Calais. Day.
3. 6.10.44 – Saarbrucken. Near collision.
4. 7.10.44 – Emmerich. Day. Fullard shot down.
5. 14.10.44 – Duisburg. Day.
6. 19.10.44 – Stuttgart. Day. Attacked by ME 110. 7 hours.
7. 23.10.44 – Essen. Night. Severe icing and thunder storms.
8. 25.40.44 – Essen. Day. Hit 4 times.
9. 28.10.44 – Cologne. Night. Temp. minus 40c. Almost struck by bombs from above.
10. 30.10.44 – Cologne. Night. Landed at Dunholme Lodge by mistake.
11. 11.11.44 – Wanne Eikel. Night. Temp. minus 40c.
12. 16.11.44 – Duren. Day.
13. 18.11.44 – Wanne Eikel. Night. Diverted.
14. 29.11.44 – Dortmund. Day. X-ray missing.
15. 3.12.44 – Urft Dam. Day. Caught fire and landed at Brussels.
16. 28.12.44 – Bonn. Night.
17. 5.1.45 – Royan. Night.
18. 28.1.45 – Stuttgart. Night. Jones missing (shot down).
19. 3.2.45 – Bottrop. Night. Freeborne missing.
20. 4.2.45 – Hilgoland. Night. Mine laying. Crane in S. Sugar shot up badly.
21. 8.2.45 – Politz. Night. 9 hours. Hit in port engine.
22. 13.2.45 – Dresden. Night. 10 1/2 hours.
23. 14.2.45 – Chemnitz. Night. Hit 5 times – once in port tailplane.
24. 21.2.45 – Duisburg. Night. Saw 5 aircraft go down in flames.
25. 1.3.45 – Mannheim. Day. Rhodes in U Uncle blew up over The Wash.
26. 5.3.45 – Chemnitz. Night. Saw 4 aircraft do [sic] down in flames. Weather Bad.
27. 15.3.45 – Misburg (Hanover). Night. Near collision.
28. 21.3.45 – Bremen. Day. Hit 3 times on port tailplane, fusilage [sic] and starboard wing.
29. 24.3.45 – Largendreen. Day. Hit 4 times.
30. 27.3.45 – Paderborne. Day. Near collision.
31. 4.4.45 – Lutzbendorf. Night. Near collision. Hit once.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Recollection of the navigator of a Lancaster which took part in the bombing of Dresden on 13/14 February 1945
Description
An account of the resource
Aircraft from 153 Squadron at Scampton. Describes crew and some history of the aircraft "P" Peter. Goes on to describe operation in detail from briefing, through the flight with navigation details, bombing and return to base. Saw no sign of Luftwaffe during operation. Relates aircraft being hit on previous operation to Politz. Comments on having to do two very long sorties on successive nights. Relate later operation to Duisburg and seeing 5 Lancaster go down after being hit by fighters or anti aircraft fire. States what they were told of reason for Dresden operation. At the end gives a list of operations. Includes a separate copy of last page with list of operations.
Format
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Twelve page handwritten document typed final page
Language
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eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BHendersonIGHendersonIGv1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Lincolnshire
Germany
France
Poland
Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
France--Calais
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Emmerich
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Essen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Düren (Cologne)
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Euskirchen Region
Germany--Bonn
France--Royan
Germany--Bottrop
Atlantic Ocean--Helgoland Bight
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Chemnitz
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Paderborn
Germany--Merseburg
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1944-09-26
1944-09-28
1944-10-06
1944-10-07
1944-10-14
1944-10-19
1944-10-23
1944-10-25
1944-10-28
1944-10-30
1944-11-11
1944-11-16
1944-11-18
1944-11-29
1944-12-03
1944-12-28
1945-01-05
1945-01-28
1945-02-03
1945-02-04
1945-02-08
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-21
1945-03-01
1945-03-05
1945-03-15
1945-03-21
1945-03-24
1945-03-27
1945-04-04
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Jan Waller
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
153 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bomb aimer
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
flight engineer
Lancaster
mine laying
navigator
pilot
RAF Scampton
shot down
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1282/35617/LWannopRE176129v2.2.pdf
477c62a8871042dcaa4a57d25c5b0dea
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wannop, Robert Eric
R E Wannop
Description
An account of the resource
Nine items. The collection concerns Flying Officer Robert Wannop DFC and contains his log books, documents and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 90 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Judy Wannop and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-06-10
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Wannop, RE
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
RE Wannop's pilot's flying log book. Two
Description
An account of the resource
Pilots flying log book two, for R E Wannop, covering the period from 22 September 1943 to 28 February 1945. Detailing his instructor duties, flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF Sealand, RAF Calveley, RAF Cranage, RAF Worksop, RAF Sandtoft and RAF Tuddenham. Aircraft flown were, DH82, Oxford, Anson, Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster. He flew a total of 11 Operations with 90 Squadron, 7 Daylight and 4 night operations. Targets were, Ludwigshaven, Nuess, Krefeld, Saarbrucken, Duisburg, Cologne, Dortmund, Dresden, Kamen and Gelsenkirchen. The log book also contains a copy of his citation for his DFC.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-01-05
1945-01-06
1945-01-07
1945-01-11
1945-01-13
1945-01-22
1945-01-23
1945-01-28
1945-02-03
1945-02-04
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-25
1945-02-26
1945-02-28
Conforms To
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Pending review
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
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Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
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One booklet
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Identifier
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LWannopRE176129v2
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Great Britain
England--Cheshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Suffolk
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Kamen
Germany--Krefeld
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Neuss
Germany--Saarbrücken
Wales--Sealand
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
1667 HCU
18 OTU
90 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Flying Training School
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
RAF Calveley
RAF Cranage
RAF Sandtoft
RAF Sealand
RAF Tuddenham
RAF Worksop
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Staves, Malcom Ely
M E Staves
Description
An account of the resource
77 items. The collection concerns Flying Officer Malcom Staves (1924 - 2012, 1591418, 203137 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, items, documents, photographs, and training notebooks. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 207 Squadron. <br /><br />There is also a sub collection concerning Flight Lieutenant <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/1020">D A MacArthur.</a><br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Christina Chatwin and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-02-26
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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Staves, ME
Transcribed document
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[underlined] RAID ASSESS )MENT MEETING. HELD ON 10th. FEB/45 [/underlined]
[underlined] LADBERGEN. 7/8th. February 1945. [/underlined]
C.O. [missing letters]over details of weather experienced. Cloud possibly made attack ineffective and in any case difficult to assess results.
Defences stronger than previously.
[underlined] S/L.ROSSIETTER. [/underlined] 44/E. was cancelled due to defective spark-ing plugs in port outer engine.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] In the case of “probable” A/C. “made up” crews are to be allotted to the A/C which is most likely to become serviceable.
[underlined] GARDENING (Forget-me-nots). 7/8th. Feb/45. [/underlined]
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] Not satisfactory attack. Training thought to be insufficient or faulty.
[underlined] F/O.STANCER. (207 Squadron). [/underlined] One crew took wrong reference point.
44 Squadron crews – Faulty camera manipulation and P. .I. photographs only taken of vicinity and not yet plotted, 44/C landed away.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] 44/C landed Carnaby. Why?
[underlined] S/L.FERGUSON. [/underlined] 44/C landed Carnaby with engine u/s. Had three good engines and no apparent reason for landing away.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] Will S/L.Ferguson supply reason for 44/c landing away?
I will speak to Squadron Commanders after this meeting to discuss methods to raise standard of gardening.
[underlined] POLITZ. 8/9th. Feb/45. [/underlined]
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] No. 1 Group attacking later say target was a mass of flames looking as if our attack was successful. However, 50% of photographs which were plotted reveal errors of over 1.000 yards. Possibly errors were caused by enemy decoy markers.
One crew bombed direct without having run up on markers and another bombed on wrong heading.
[underlined] W/C.BLACK. [/underlined] These were pilot’s errors due to new inexperienced crews who have been spoken to on the matter and are unlikely to repeat the errors. In the second case he did not continue his turn after passing over T.I’s to get on correct heading. When B/A said “Now” pilot straightened out without attempting to correct heading.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] Flak over Sweden increased. One A/C seen shot down over Sweden.
[underlined] S/L.HARISON. [/underlined] Possibly lowest we’ve been over Sweden.
[underlined] W/C.BLACK. [/underlined] Crews reported definitely shot at.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] In future consider Swedish flak at Flight Planning. There were two early returns. 1.u/s Bombsight. 2. u/s Oil Gauge. 207/L.
[underlined] P/O.YOUNG. [/underlined] Servicibility [sic] of instruments is mentioned at briefings
(continued)
[page break]
[underlined] RAID ASSESSMENT MEETING. 10/2/45. [/underlined] (continued) [underlined] SHEET. 2. [/underlined]
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] One A/C of 44 Squadron abortive as late.
[underlined] S/L [missing word]. [/underlined] This was due to faulty D.R.Navigation.
[underlined] GENERAL. [/underlined]
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] Overshoots. Crews to be reminded that they may have to return and land on shorter runway. Some crews seem to think that call-up height is 1.200 ft instead of correct height of 2.000 ft. Some crews landing without R.T.
[underlined] F/L.DOUGHTY. [/underlined] Caused by window as A/C are coming back with window on aerial. A/C unable to “get through” without aerial and would not know of u/s aerial until return.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] 44 Squadron Gunners are letting off rounds on airfields. S/LFERGUSON to report.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] Five crews from each Squadron to be detailed for E.T.R. procedure and for wind finding.
Any improvement in number of crews using H2S ?
[underlined] F/O.WALLACE. [/underlined] Only four or five crews from each Squadron.
[underlined] [missing letter]/L.BAUD. [/underlined] Low level of return was reason for not using H2S on last operation.
[underlined] F/O.WALLACE. [/underlined] The only way we can test the instrument is by operation in the air. Therefore it is essential that H2S be tested in air whenever possible.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] It is now to be an [underlined] order [/underlined] that crews use H2S whenever possible.
[page break]
[inserted] File [/inserted]
[underlined] RAID ASSESSMENT MEETING. 16th. FEBRUARY 1945. [/underlined]
[underlined] ROSITA – 14/15th. FEB/45. [/underlined]
1. [underlined] C.O. [/underlined] There was delay in take-off caused by Navigators waiting for Met. winds.
[underlined] F/O.STEELE. [/underlined] Amendment to winds came through late and had to be written on blackboards in briefing rooms.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] If amendment to Met. winds comes through before one hour previous to “first time off” then it is in order to pass the information to Navigators direct. Amendments coming through within one hour of take-off are to be referred to the station Navigation Office-r [sic] for him to decide whether the information is sufficiently important to be passed to crews.
2. [underlined] C.O. [/underlined] Further delay caused by an A/C. becoming bogged, due to standing on a French drain. Crews are not to stop on these drains.
[underlined] S/L.HOWES. [/underlined] Captain of this A/C. has been spoken to on the matter.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] Two tractors should have been there.
[underlined] S/L.GARDINER. [/underlined] Tankers were sent first, then second tractor sent.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] Drill should be to turn A/C. immediately, in view of uncertainty as to speed with which bogged A/C. can be moved.
[underlined] W/C.NEWMARSH. [/underlined] Suggested not too long a line of A/C. be allowed to build up between end of runway and intersection.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] Agreed! 4-5 A/C. a suitable number. Will speakto [sic] S/LDR.Gardiner about this.
3. [underlined] C.O. [/underlined] These delays resulted in only 8 A/C. of 44 Squadron and 11 of 207 Squadron doing support run over target.
4. There were three early returns in 207 Squadron, crews having been instructed to return from Position ‘C’ if there was no chance of making up time.
[underlined] S/L.HOWES. [/underlined] F/O’s Howard and [indecipherable word] could not have made up time and were justified in returning. Not so in the case of F/[missing letter].Downing.
F/O.Howard was the only one to attempt to cut across over LONDON area, or to East of LONDON. It is thought that it would be helpful if a ruling could be obtained as to whether it is permissible for late A/C. to do this.
[underlined] S/L.HARRISON AND S/L.GARDINER. [/underlined] Prior/clearance would be necessary.
5. [underlined] C.O. [/underlined] Supporting A/C. were affected by icing on Perspex having come down through cloud to bombing height.
[underlined] S/L.FERGUSON. [/underlined] This/icing was not severe and should have cleared before bombing.
[underlined] F/O.BAKER. [/underlined] Thought crews slow to use de-icing equipment. Possibily [sic] forgot to use it.
(continued)
[page break]
[underlined] Page 2. [/underlined]
[underlined] HARBURG. [/underlined] (1) Marking carried out slightly too early controller ordering “Come in and bomb” at H-3. Winds were passed at H-5. The fact that some crews arrived early increased time over target. Heavy losses due to fighters – 13 in Group, 2 from this Station.
(2) F/Lt.Linnett reported that three aircraft of 207 Squadron had large errors shown by photographs but this was due to pilots carrying out turns at the time of photograph, to avoid other aircraft.
(3) 44 Bombing Leader said that several aircraft had difficulty in keeping straight and level after bombing for this reason.
(4) Headings in 44 Squadron were mainly O.K. 207/H attacked practically on reciprocal of correct heading W/Op had difficulty with W.T. and had to rely on “magic eye”.
(5) S/Ldr.[indecipherable name] thought routeing over Hamburg may have upset headings.
(6) 207/V had no photograph of bombing as film was expended during jettison action on way to target. This action was necessary to reduce load owing to engine trouble.
[underlined] TAXYING. [/underlined] (1) C.O. stated that taxying of both squadrons is still too fast owing to aircraft leaving dispersals too late.
This possibly due to crews not entering aircraft early enough. They should be in aircraft 10 minutes before time to leave. a contributory cause may be that first aircraft off is taking off too soon.
[underlined] R.T. DISCIPLINE. [/underlined]
(1) C.O. stated that R.T. discipline bad and that too much chattering is going on.
[underlined] E.R.T. and LANDING PROCEDURE. [/underlined]
(1) 207 Squadron aircraft have been returning early possibly due to desire to get back “while the going’s good”.
S/Ldr.[indecipherable name] said that crews while willing to adjust speed are disinclined to carry out “dog-legs”.
[page break]
[underlined] Page 3. [/underlined]
[underlined] E.R.T. and LANDING PROCEDURE (contd). [/underlined]
(2) C.O. reported that last return was complete shambles. This was thought to be due to0 the Funnel not being switched on rather than the fact that lighting was originally on quarter strength. Crews must have [missing letter].D.M. set on D.R. compass. S/Ldr.Ferguson had [missing letter].D.M. set O.K. and found runway alright although lighting was rather dim and aircraft on [indecipherable word] looked bright by comparison. He had to overshoot twice owing to being too close to other aircraft. Aerodrome was visible at distance of 10 miles at 2000 ft although not recognisable. S/Ldr.Ferguson considered quarter strength sufficient on a dark night.
[underlined] R/T. FAILURES. [/underlined]
(1) F/Lt.Doughty said all failures were due to loss of aerials. W/Op should go over to 1155 and briefed each time to do this. It takes 3 minutes to change over.
(2) W/Cmdr.Newmarsh and S/Ldr.Bird considered 1155 unsatisfactory owing to background of noise and suggest such aircraft wait until other aircraft have landed. C.O. ruled that crews must go over to Marconi and if reception is not good enough then wait until end.
(3) W/Cmdr.Newmarsh said that one of the main troubles is that crews do not realise soon enough that R/T is not working properly.
[page break]
File
[underlined] RAID ASSESSMENT MEETING. 16th. FEBRUARY 1945. [/underlined]
[underlined] DRESDEN – 13/14th. FEB/45 [/underlined]
1. [underlined] C.O. [/underlined] There was one swing on take-off (F/O.Craig of 44 Squadron). Caused by starboard inner engine failure. Odd that this should result in a swing to port.
[underlined] S/L.FERGUSON. [/underlined] F/O.Craig reports that he had full rudder control. Possibily [sic] he anticipated starboard inner engine cutting(because fuel lights came on) thereby causing swing to port.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] Squadron Commanders to brief crews concerning swings on take-off, particularly with regard to slow opening of throttles and straightening of tail wheel.
2. [underlined] C.O. [/underlined] E.T.R. procedure went wrong. E.T.R. had to be amended to 0308. In the case of the ROSITZ raid the following night, the E.T.R. again had to be amended and 7 crews from this station did not receive the amendment. This was due to non-compliance with instructions to return Group Frequency for second broadcast and presumably crews assumed there would be no amendment. E.T.R. discipline evidently slacking off,
[underlined] W/C.NEWMARSH. [/underlined] Found to be well ahead of Flight Plan timing on return trip. Possibly due to fairly prolonged period of increased speed at time of “coming down in steps”.
[underlined] P/O.STANCER. [/underlined] Thought to be better to keep to Flight Plan [underlined] timing [/underlined], unless it becomes necessary to reduce speed by more than 5-10 mph, in which case it would be preferable to keep to planned [underlined] speeds [/underlined].
[underlined] S/L.HOWES. [/underlined] Considered crews are trying to keep to E.T.R. procedure but that they are experiencing difficulty. Scheme would work successfully if it were a question of keeping to either Flight Plan times [underlined] OR [/underlined] speeds.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] F/O. Stancer to take this matter up with Group using the ROSITZ operation as an example.
3. [underlined] F/O.STANCER. [/underlined] Crews are now operating H2S wherever possible.
4. [underlined] S/L. GARDINER. [/underlined] Some crews are still entering circuits below 2000 ft.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] Further briefing on this point is necessary in view of call-up height having been 1200 ft some time previously.
5. [underlined] S/L.HARRISON. [/underlined] Read over P.R.U. report confirming that this operation was successful.
6. [underlined] C.O. [/underlined] Still reports of incendiary bombs being jettisoned on track.
[underlined] S/L.FERGUSON. [/underlined] Crews were specifically briefed again about keeping bomb doors closed. No reports of jettisoned I/B’s after ROSITZ attack. Always reported after Incendiary attacks.
[page break]
[underlined] Raid Assessment Meeting. 16th. February 1945. (contd) SHEET 2. [/underlined]
6. [underlined] C.O. [/underlined] Fighter activity again slight.
[underlined] F/L.CLARKE. [/underlined] Two combats in 44 Squadron. One A/C. reporting a S/E. A/C. carrying diffused light in belly presumably for the purpose of blinding bomber crews.
7. [underlined] C.O. [/underlined] A lot of dust is present on the runways.
[underlined] S/L.GARDINER. [/underlined] Runways are brushed once a fortnight, difficulty being experienced in obtaining a driver from M.T. Section. The top surface is in need of repair.
[underlined] C.O. [/underlined] See about getting a driver from M.T. Also see that a Control Officer goes round the airfield half an hour before take-off to ensure it is cleared of workmen.
[inserted] [INTELLIGENCE stamp] [/inserted]
[page break]
[underlined] RAID ASSESSMENT MEETING 9 th MARCH 1945. [/underlined]
DEFECTS: (1) S/L Rossiter mentioned that engine defects usually occur between 360 – 395 hours. Engine defects not considered to be due to bad handling by flight engineers.
[inserted vertically] [INTELLIGENCE stamp] [/inserted vertically]
(2) 207/H D.R. compass U/S owing to break in supply lead due to being struck or hung on by someone. Pilot had experienced slight trouble with it before, but did not consider it sufficiently serious to report. W/C Black to interview this Pilot.
(3) 44/C Compass U/S due to failure of master unit. This had been reported 3 days previously..Caused Pilot to fly over Rhur [sic] and run the gauntlet of considerable Flak defences. Eventually he had to return without bombing.
(4) 44/M Crew reported failure of bomb release mechanism. W/C Newmarsh said electrical section unable to discover any technical failure. S/L Bird of the opinion that crew did not carry out drill correctly owing to excitement.
(5) 207/X Had valve trouble on Gee indicator.
(6) One mine hung up. Orders are that a percentage check of mines loaded is to be carried out.
SASSNITZ. (1) Gardening errors were high. F/O.Stancer reported that crews did not obtain best possible photographs. On this occasion they were briefed by F/Sgt.Bremage and F/O. Baker. F/Lt.Linnett mentioned that all new crews are lectured on the camera and its use. Crew of 44/Q did not carry out correct drill which is marked on the camera. This crew mined successfully on the previous gardening operation. Commanding Officer pointed out that it is finally the responsibility of the Bombing or Gardening Leader that the release points are correctly worked out.
(2) Swedish flak reported by W/Cmdr.Newmarsh to be less than encountered on previous operations. S/Ldr.Harrison pointed out that searchlights apparently more active this time.
[page break]
[underlined] RAID ASSESSMENT MEETING. 23rd MARCH 1945. [/underlined]
[indecipherable word] 20/21 March, 1945.
1) C.O. went over Flight Plan which seemed to have been correct strategy.
2) S/Ldr. BAUD reported three small deviations from Flt. Plan by 44/[indecipherable letter]-F/L.JORY, 44/N – P/O.DALTON, 44/A – F/O. WALKER. F/L. JORY denied that he was 500 ft. below planned height in front line area. S/Ldr. BAUD said that where Captains and Navigators disagree , there is no alternative but to take the written evidence of the Navigator.
CO., ruled that Navigator must use Captains readings. CO., remarked thatin [sic] this instance it appeared that some crews had commenced descent slightly too soon and that it is very important to keep correct heights, particularly over front line areas.
3) S/Ldr. BAUD reported one slight deviation in 207 Squdn. By 207/V – F/Lt. VERRALLS who was too high at 090E. This was justifiable as the purpose was to gain cloud cover.
4) CO., remarked that the T.I’s on the spoof target of HALLE were inaccurate and F/LO. LINNETT said they were 4 miles West of the Town.
5) F/Lt. LEATHER reported that some crews on BOHLEN bombed early. Squadron Bombing Leaders reported that [indecipherable word] from Spilsby did this.
6) C.O. mentioned that attack was successful. The value of bombing photographs was instanced in this raid as it was immediately apparent that it was unnecessary to attack BOHLEN again the succeeding night.
7) Intruder activity ceased at 22.45 and did not, after all, interfere with take – off at 23.15.
8) F/O.KING, 2078 Squadron, reported that in each of the last two operations M.T.drivers had no clue as to the positions of the dispersals. C.O. ruled that new drivers are not to be put on night duty.
9) S/Ldr.BAUD reported that majority of crews endeavour to keep to E.T.R.
But two or three are not doing so. On This operation three of 44 Squadron were back early and one was late, five of 207 Squadron were in excess of 7 minutes one way or the other.
C.O. remarked that it will be necessary to order early crews to “Bograt”.
10) S/Ldr.GARDNER reported that Control had no difficulties on this night. S/Ldr.BIRD said that Channel “B” was noisy. C.O. said that take-off was slow.
11)
S/Ldr.BAUD said track keeping was mostly O.K. Winds were the main snag. 207/X was late in spite of having flown correct speeds. The A.S.I. is being checked but no report yet received. Different crews had experienced the same trouble with the same aircraft.
[underlined] “HAMBURG D.P.A.G.” [/underlined] 21/22 March, 1945.
1) C.O. went over Flight Plan. Question was raised at Flight Planning as to whether it would be better to come down to 3-5000 feet over Kiel Canal or keep high and risk fighters. A.O.C. decided to accept risk of light flak. Some crews experienced considerable light flak over the canal and others none – possibly due to patchy cloud conditions. One Ju.88 was seen over Hamburg and another enemy aircraft before the target was reached.
[page break]
[underlined] Page 2. [/underlined]
2) Engineering Officer reported flak damage to 44/J and 44/H.
3) F/Lt.JORY saw one aircraft crash in Kiel Canal area. Aircraft concerned was to starboard of track.
4) C.O. and S/Ldr.FERGUSON discussed the difficulty caused because one aircraft in target area had V.H.F. on “transmit”.
5) P/O.JONES reported that all 44 Squadron bombed as planned. F/Lt.LINNETT said two crews of 207 Squadron bombed direct. W/Cmdr.BLACK had told these crews that bombing is to be as planned unless instructions are received to the contrary.
6) C.O. remarked that most photographs were good. S/Ldr.BIRD said one crew of 44 Squadron had 6000 yards undershoot due to trouble with the bombsight which the Bomb Aimer could not correct. F/Lt.LINNETT explained that one error (2700 yards undershoot) was due to photograph being affected by the aircraft being in a dive, also due to over anxiety of new crew.
7) S/Ldr.FERGUSON reported difficulty in climbing to specified bombing height adding that he just reached correct height in time and that he was in a lower height band than some.
S/Ldr.BAUD reported that 4 crews from this Station bombed below correct height. Wind velocity in target area was 3300/50 i.e. from port quarter.
[underlined] DEFECTS. [/underlined]
1) F/Lt.KENNEDY reported one early return (44/Y) due to U/S rear turret. Caused by small hole in main pressure gauge pipe resulting from chaffing. This is inspected at every minor inspection. MA.P. have the matter in hand.
2) Engineering Officer reported an early return (44/S) due to loss of oil pressure and coolant overheating. The overheating was due to radiator flap being closed but no cause can be found for the other defect. Pilot (F/Lt. SIMONS) said gauge read zero. The gauge is serviceable.
3) F/Lt. HERBERT reported one A/C had trouble with Master Bomb Switch which, having been checked “on” was subsequently found to be knocked “off”. Thought to be caused by Engineer knocking the switch while in the act of windowing. 44/A – F/O. WALKER struck sea on way back. No instrument failure evident. S/Ldr. BIRD said it was due to “low flying”.
S/Ldr. BAUD said 44 Squadron were under a misapprehension as to the purpose of the master bombing switch which should be always be locked “ON” except in certain circumstances. C.O. ruled that instructions should be given at Navigators Briefing.
4) F/Lt. HERBERT said that ultra – violet lighting in aircraft, though not required at present may be necessary in future.
(End.
[page break]
(Date) 2/3.2.45 (Aircraft Type & Number) Lancaster I PD.782(Crew) F/O. CHAMBERS F.E., Sgt. Tait A, Sgt. Davies J.H., F/Sgt. Mirfin R.J., Sgt. Jewish W.H.R., Sgt. Sutherland D, F/Sgt. Walsh D.W.A. (Duty) Bombing (Time Up) 20.26 (Time Down) 03.46 (Details of Sortie or Flight) [underlined] BOMBING ATTACK KARLSRHUE. [/underlined] Bomb load 1 x 4000 Minol + 1800 x 4 lb incendiaries. 10/10th cloud over target. Target identified by one big red glow from fires. Bombed at 23.31 hrs. from 13.000 ft. heading 1100 IAS.175 mph. Centre of red glow + basic delay of 8 secs. One big glow. One green T.I. and two reds seen going down many miles to port. High oil temperature on both outer engines. This delayed us. Engine trouble prevented us from catching up withthe [sic] main bombing force in time to the supporting run and also from reaching the bombing height laid down – 16.000 feet. SORTIE COMPLETED. (Reference) 1 [deleted] 4 [/deleted]
(Date) 7/8.2.45 (Aircraft Type & Number) Lancaster I LL.902 (Crew) F/O. Watters. D.R., Sgt. Henderson J., Sgt. Stewart J.M., Sgt. Moore R., Sgt. Staveaz M.E., Sgt. Verney E., Sgt. Watkins. C.H. (Duty) Bombing (Time Up) 20.52 (Time Down) 03.23 (Details of Sortie or Flight) [underlined] BOMBING ATTACK LADBERGEN. [/underlined] Bomb load 14 x 1000 MC. Fzd. 8/10th. St. Cu. Tops 8-10.000’. Target identified by illuminating flares: Red and Green T.I.’s: Gee. Bombed at 00.02 1/2 hours from 11.500 ft. heading 0640 IAS. 160 m.p.h. Glow of red T.I.S.’s (Controller instructed “bomb first red T.I. as you go in”). SORTIE COMPLETED. (Reference) 1 [deleted] 4 [/deleted]
(Date) 7/8.2.4.5 [sic] (Aircraft Type & Number) Lancaster I PA.183 (Crew) F/O.Chambers, Sgt. Taito A., Sgt. Davies J.A., F/Sgt. Mirfin R.J., Sgt. Jewiss W.H.R., Sgt. Sutherland D., F/Sgt. Walsh D.W.A. (Duty) Bombing (Time Up) 20.59 (Time Down) 03.35 (Details of Sortie or Flight) [underlined] BOMBING ATTACK LADBERGEN. [/underlined] Bomb load 14 x 1000 MC. Fzd. 53A 10/10ths cloud. Target identified by two Red and Green T.I.’s Gee. Bombed at 00.04 hrs. from 10.000’ heading 0420 IAS. 180 mph. Westerly red T.I. In cloud until 10 sec. before release. Observation impossible. Defences considerably stopped [sic] up. SORTIE COMPLETED. (Reference) 1 [deleted] 4 [/deleted]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Raid Assessments
Description
An account of the resource
Five 'raid assessments' carried out at RAF Spilsby. Detail of problems encountered in each operation. Final sheet is an extract from Operations Record Book by three different Lancasters.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945
Format
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13 photocopied sheets
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Service material
Identifier
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MStavesME203137-160226-350001,
MStavesME203137-160226-350002,
MStavesME203137-160226-350003,
MStavesME203137-160226-350004,
MStavesME203137-160226-350005,
MStavesME203137-160226-350006,
MStavesME203137-160226-350007,
MStavesME203137-160226-350008,
MStavesME203137-160226-350009,
MStavesME203137-160226-350010,
MStavesME203137-160226-350011,
MStavesME203137-160226-350012,
MStavesME203137-160226-350013
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Great Britain
Poland
Sweden
England--Lincolnshire
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Steinfurt (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Germany--Thuringia
Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-02
1945-03
Contributor
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Steve Baldwin
207 Squadron
44 Squadron
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
flight engineer
H2S
incendiary device
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 1
mine laying
navigator
RAF Spilsby
Window
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Evans, Derek Carrington
D C Evans
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
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Evans, DC
Description
An account of the resource
Eight items. An oral history interview with Warrant Officer Derek Carrington Evans (1924 - 2017, 2207080 Royal Air Force) and his log book. He flew operations as a wireless operator / air gunner with 625 Squadron. Also contains photographs of model Lancaster and people.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Derek Carrington Evans and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-07-14
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Pilot - face to face
Description
An account of the resource
Introduces Michael G Hanson an RAF reservist and tells of time sailing before stating training. Covers elementary and advanced training before joining 233 Squadron at RAF Leuchars on Hudson. Relates life on the station, in local area and on maritime operations. Continues with accounts of convoy escort from Northern Ireland and life at RAF Aldergrove including meeting member of women's auxiliary air force. Relates attacks on Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and other Atlantic operations from RAF St Eval. After completing his tour he became a navigator instructor. He was posted to bomber command in June 1944 and trained on Wellington and Halifax and then on to Lancaster at RAF Hemswell. Describes first operation over France while still training. Eventually goes to 625 Squadron at RAF Kelstern. Gives detailed account of operations including Essen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Bochum (attached by fighter), Gelsenkirchen, Wanne-Eickel, Dortmund, Harburg, Duren, Bonn, St Vith, Rheydt, Sholven/Buer (oil refinery). Interspersed with accounts of life on camp. Continues with description of other operations, pathfinding, H2S, use of Mosquito. Gives account of operation to Dresden and other operations towards end of the war. Concludes with mention of Operation Manna and award of Distinguished Flying Cross and life after the end of the war. All the way through he writes of activities, events, friends, colleagues and girl friends.
In accordance with the conditions stipulated by the donor, this item is available only at the University of Lincoln.
Creator
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Peter Russell
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Format
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496 page printed book with cover
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
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MEvansDC2207080-160825-02
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Coastal Command
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Warwickshire
England--Lincolnshire
Scotland--Fife
Scotland--St. Andrews
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland--Antrim (County)
France
France--Brest
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
England--Sussex
England--Eastbourne (East Sussex)
England--Shropshire
England--Bridgnorth
Northern Ireland--Down (County)
England--Wiltshire
England--Nottinghamshire
France--Angers
Germany
Germany--Essen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Wanne-Eickel
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Harburg (Landkreis)
Germany--Düren (Cologne)
Germany--Bonn
Belgium
Belgium--Saint-Vith
Germany--Rheydt
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Bottrop
Germany--Goch
Germany--Kleve (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Poland
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Hanau
Germany--Witten
Germany--Helgoland
Germany--Berchtesgaden
England--Cornwall (County)
England--Yorkshire
Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)
Great Britain
Great Britain
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Swindon (Wiltshire)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1939
1944-06-06
1944-10-23
1944-10-28
1944-11-02
1944-11-04
1944-11-06
1944-11-09
1944-11-16
1944-11-11
1944-11-12
1944-11-18
1944-11-19
1944-11-21
1944-11-22
1944-12-25
1944-12-26
1944-12-27
1945-01-16
1945-02-01
1945-02-02
1945-02-03
1945-02-04
1945-02-07
1945-02-08
1945-02-13
1945-03-01
1945-03-12
1945-03-18
1945-04-18
1945-05-25
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
625 Squadron
aircrew
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
crewing up
Distinguished Flying Cross
Gneisenau
ground personnel
H2S
Halifax
Hudson
Lancaster
love and romance
Mosquito
navigator
Oboe
Operation Manna (29 Apr – 8 May 1945)
Oxford
Pathfinders
pilot
RAF Ansty
RAF Blyton
RAF Cranwell
RAF Finningley
RAF Hemswell
RAF Kelstern
RAF Leuchars
RAF Sandtoft
RAF Scampton
RAF Silloth
RAF St Eval
RAF Watchfield
RAF Worksop
Scharnhorst
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/540/28370/MGilbertAC186764-161013-03.1.pdf
0d4809244d656da57a7d6041b45cfc53
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Gilbert, Alexander Charles
A C Gilbert
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
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Gilbert, AC
Description
An account of the resource
21 items. An oral history interview with Squadron Leader Alexander Charles Gilbert DFC (b. 1921, 1336682, 186764 Royal Air Force) his log book, documents and photographs. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 9, 514 and 159 Squadrons. He was Awarded the Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 2020.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Alexander Gilbert and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-01-13
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[black and white photograph of Peter Twinn standing in front of his aircraft wearing flying suit]
[black and white aerial photograph of bombed out buildings in Dresden]
[head and shoulders, colour photograph of Peter Twinn later in life]
By the time RAF rear gunner Peter Twinn’s Lancaster got to the target, the area below was already a mass of fires. “But it didn’t stand out as something special” he recalled. “It was just another target and one town on fire is very much the same as another – only the acreage was greater.”
Peter was a veteran of many [underlined] World War Two [/underlined] Bomber Command raids and his target that night, February 13, 1945, was the city of Dresden, a name that has become synonymous with the controversy.
When I spoke to him at his Essex home 12 years ago, he told me: “I realised the enormity of it all after we got out of the target area. Looking back, seeing the entirety, you realised just how bad it must have been down there.”
Seventy years on, the controversy shows no signs of diminishing.
Was [underlined] the RAF [/underlined] bombing of Dresden really a war crime as many historians have suggested? Should Britain now apologise?
My answer to this is a resounding “No”.
In fact it’s time to attack the many myths [underlined] about Dresden. [/underlined]
There is no dispute about the awful slaughter and destruction wrought on a city of rare beauty with many elegant palaces and churches.
It had been attacked twice by American bombers in 1944, but that was no preparation for the savagery of February 13 and 14. Instructions to the crews leave no doubt that “shock and awe” was the intention.
One RAF man said: “The whole city was ablaze from end to end. It was a sea of liquid flames, inspiring in its intensity. It was so bright at bombing height that we could easily have read a newspaper.”
[page break]
On the ground, death and chaos reigned. Those who found room in the inadequate public shelters or their own cellars cowered under the onslaught. When the drone of the bombers had gone, one man ventured upstairs and looked out on a scene from hell.
“Everywhere we turned, buildings were on fire. The spark-filled air was suffocating. Chunks of red-hot matter were flying at us,” he said.
But this was only the opening salvo and the death and destruction would continue for many hours.
Arguments over how many perished that awful night continue today.
[colour photograph of Peter Twinn, wearing a suit, with his medals on show, standing in front of an aircraft]
Duty: Peter Twinn, who flew a Lancaster bomber over Dresden
Disposal of the dead began immediately. SS men from the Treblinka concentration camps used their expertise at disposing of bodies. A month later an official German report said the known death toll was 18,375 and estimated the final figure at around 25,000.
Among the many wild totals quoted later, it remains the only one that has any official authority to it.
It is undoubtedly a minimum figure.
Most responsible histories add between 10,000 and 15,000 more for the unknown number of refugees who died, brining the toll to somewhere between 25,000 and 40,000.
It was a terrible calamity, but after the war the figure became an urban myth, inflated to as much as 320,000. It has suited critics to exaggerate the truth to demonise the attackers.
[page break]
The argument that Dresden was an “innocent city” and hence the victim of a war crime began to take hold.
Yet the city boasted it was “one of the foremost industrial locations in the Reich” and 127 factories had secretly been switched to war work, making bomb-aiming apparatus, searchlights and parts for V-1 flying bombs to name but a few.
[black and white photograph of Peter Twinn in his flying suit standing in front of an aircraft]
At war: Peter Twinn was a pilot for Bomber Command
[page break]
Dresden was also about to take a more active role in the fighting. The German High Command had designated it as a defensive military strongpoint against the Russian advance from the east.
It was also a vital link in the German rail network – 28 military transports a day came through Dresden with troops and tanks. The city was a war factory, a fortress and a transport hub.
This made it a legitimate target for the bombers.
Another favoured argument is that “the war was nearly over”. These critics are using a wonderful weapon called ‘hindsight’.
The harsh reality of the time was that only total war would bring Hitler’s Germany to its knees.
The end was far from apparent early in 1945. There had been mass casualties at the Battle of the Bulge and Arnhem, the first Germans jet fighters were airborne, and V-1 and V-2 rockets were killing thousands of civilians in southern Britain.
One wonders what the hindsight experts would be saying today if the RAF had stopped the bombing early and the war had gone on for months, perhaps even years.
This controversy deeply hurt the men of Bomber Command.
Rear-gunner Peter Twinn sadly died in January 2010, three years before the magnificent Bomber Command Memorial was unveiled in London to commemorate the sacrifice he and his colleagues made.
He had told me: “People sit in judgement of us but they haven’t got a clue what it was all about and it is very wrong that people criticise what we did – they dishonour the memory of our comrades who died. Because without Bomber Command at that time, I think the country would have been overrun.”
Another person who might agree is Elka Schrijver from Holland. At the time of the raids she was one of 4,000 political prisoners in a jail near Dresden where male inmates were digging a huge hole in the ground.
“After our liberation,” she said, “documents found by the Red Cross showed that this was meant to be a mass grave and that orders from Dresden had been received to shoot all of us.
[page break]
[colour photograph of a Lancaster bomber in the air]
Weapon of choice: The Lancaster bomber
“Subsequent to the Dresden raids, nobody had the courage to execute these orders. Those of us who were political prisoners in Saxony at the time directly owe our lives to those air raids.”
Perhaps the final word should go to RAF pilot Freddie Hulance, who died a few years after I interviewed him. His Lancaster bomber was one of the first over the target.
“I once heard someone describe the bombing of Dresden as a holocaust”, he said. “That was a word I had never heard until the end of the war when we were shown what the Germans had done to the Jews.
“Knowing the real meaning of holocaust I am even more proud of what I did. I helped to shorten that war, a war that we simply had to win.”
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Peter Twinn's Dresden Story
Description
An account of the resource
An article about Peter and others with reference to Dresden.
Format
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Five printed sheets
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Personal research
Identifier
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MGilbertAC186764-161013-03
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Civilian
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Dresden
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-02-13
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
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Tricia Marshall
air gunner
aircrew
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Holocaust
Lancaster
memorial
perception of bombing war
pilot
Red Cross
V-1
V-2
V-weapon
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/540/28400/MGilbertAC186764-161013-09.2.pdf
8205ba52d4e6f63fbc896ede26913550
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Gilbert, Alexander Charles
A C Gilbert
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IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
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Gilbert, AC
Description
An account of the resource
21 items. An oral history interview with Squadron Leader Alexander Charles Gilbert DFC (b. 1921, 1336682, 186764 Royal Air Force) his log book, documents and photographs. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 9, 514 and 159 Squadrons. He was Awarded the Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 2020.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Alexander Gilbert and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
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2016-01-13
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Transcribed document
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Transcription
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THEYDON BOIS: Dresden bomber dies
[Photograph]
[Page break]
[Photograph]
Peter Twinn was an active and popular member of the Epping and District branch of the Royal British Legion.
[Photograph]
AN RAF gunner who became known the world over for his part in the bombings of Dresden, Nuremberg and Berlin during the Second World War has died aged 88.
Peter Twinn, of Dukes Avenue in Theydon Bois, appeared in countless TV documentaries, articles and books as one of the few participating survivors prepared to recount his experiences of the controversial raids.
Mr Twinn, who was awarded a DFC medal for bravery, spent the war providing covering fire cooped up in a bubble at the rear of a Lancaster Bomber.
His role as a ‘Tail-end Charlie’ was notoriously risky – only one in three survived the war.
While his crew were hailed as heroes at the time, revisionist historians subsequently criticised the bombing of Dresden as unjustified.
But Mr Twinn, who later became president of the Epping and District Royal British Legion, remained unfazed, and happily spoke out to give his views on the controversy.
[Page break]
“He said the point is when they were actually bombing the place they didn’t think of those that were being killed. You went out, did your job and tried to get home if you could,” said his widow Marjorie, 80.
“His attitude was why should we apologise when the Germans raised Coventry and London to the ground?”
However, Mr Twinn’s war was about far more than Dresden.
“He got into a few scrapes,” said Marjorie. “There was one occasion when his heating suit packed up. The panel on his bit of the plane had been removed to give him a better view but he was left freezing.
“He was so cold by the end of it they had to lift him out of the plane.”
Mr Twinn also kept meticulous records, and would collect newspaper coverage of his missions – correcting inaccuracies and propaganda in the margins.
The priceless collection is now being handed over to the Imperial War Museum.
Mr Twinn, who died after a battle with cancer, is survived by his wife Marjorie, two daughters from a previous marriage, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at St Mary’s Church in Theydon Bois at 1.30pm on Friday February 5.
Comments (4)
THEYDON BOIS: Dresden bomber dies
4.35pm Tue 26 Jan 10 Touchwood says…
Peace to one of this country’s heroes.
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5.54pm Tue 26 Jan 10 inéze says…
He was a true hero and it was an absolute privilege to know him. My condolences and sympathy go out to his lovely wife, Marjorie and to his family.
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6.29pm Tue 26 Jan 10 w-evr says…
Another hero fallen, the country owes its very existence to men like these. To have had to endure the liberal historians dare to even criticise his and fellow heroes actions is a stark and shocking reminder of just how ridiculous and politically correct this nation has become. I for one thank the men like this for their efforts and bravery and will make sure that my children and their children will be aware of the sacrifices made by his generation. History is written by the winners and the winners appear to be the white liberal do gooders that have the audacity to dare contemplate the actions of these men. We have brave men and women in battle right at this moment fighting a war that is not quite so “clear cut” in its intentions. Are the spineless PC history makers going to apologise for Iraq or Afghanistan the moment (and in gods name its soon) that our troops are brought safely home? No they will just put some more spin on the situation to cover it up! There should be a local memorial to this man and his regiment erected so their efforts can be remembered by future generations. RIP another fallen hero!
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Peter Twinn Obituary
Description
An account of the resource
A brief obituary of Peter. During the war he was awarded a DFC for bravery. He was proud of his wartime record and for a time was president of his local British Legion.
Format
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Three printed sheets
Language
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eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MGilbertAC186764-161013-09
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Theydon Bois
England--Coventry
England--London
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany
England--Essex
England--Warwickshire
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
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David Bloomfield
Anne-Marie Watson
Requires
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Workflow A completed
air gunner
aircrew
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Lancaster